On Thursday the author of “The Blue Ridge Parkway by Foot: A Park Ranger’s Memoir,” will be at the Mount Airy Public Library at 6:30 p.m. to discuss his book.

A native of North Carolina, Tim Pegram graduated from the School of Forest Resources at North Carolina State University with dual degrees in recreation and park administration and natural resource recreation management.

He served as a park ranger at Raven Rock State Park and Crowders Mountain State Park for two and a half years. He later became a National Park Service ranger on the Blue Ridge Parkway where he served as an interpretive ranger for two summer seasons. He spent 12 years as a protection ranger. He retired from federal service in 2002.

In 2003, he became the first person known to have backpacked the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

His first book chronicling the journey, “The Blue Ridge Park by Foot: A Park Ranger’s Memoir” was released by McFarland & Company Inc. in July 2007.

After his first book was published, he became a freelance writer for numerous newspapers including the Raleigh News & Observer, the Greensboro News & Record and the Wilmington Star. He has also written for magazines including “Our State,” “Blue Ridge Outdoors” and “NC State.”

He is working on another article for the November issue of “Our State” and another non-fiction book about his recent cross-country trek from Raleigh to Cold Mountain, which is a re-enactment of Inman’s 1864 journey from the novel by Charles Frazier, “Cold Mountain.”

His plans include writing a novel and a collection of poetry.

The author lives in Oak Ridge with his wife Patty.

For more information call the Mount Airy Public Library at 789-5108.