Fiction. In Samuel Reifler"s own words: "This is the story of how I set out to hike the Application Trail to prepare myself for a professional position in Central America...how I was deterred by a freak meteorological occurrence; how I encountered a pair of Machiavellian backpackers who sent me to what could have been my doom, but which turned out to be a more mixed experience...and how my return home was abruptly interrupted." Reifler describes himself as "a cranky old guy who lives in Dutchess County, New York."