The Omieja Project by Dana Wayne Haley

When four college students decide to spend the summer after graduation hiking the Appalachian Trail, they imagine a few months of fun adventures, meeting new people, and making the most of their last summer of freedom before “slaving away for some Fortune 500 company”. Instead they have their share of mysterious and often stressful experiences; including a perilous encounter that forces them off the trail, causing them to stumble upon something that makes them question their sanity and wonder if they are finally safe—or if their troubles are just beginning.