A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, by Bill Bryson

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Several years ago, I had read several books about hiking the Appalachian Trail. It was then that I decided to read A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, by Bill Bryson.

Fast forward several years; I finally got around to reading it, and am glad that I did.

Shortly after moving to New Hampshire, Bill Bryson "happened upon a path that vanished into the woods on the edge of town." This path, of course, turned out to be part of the Appalachian Trail.

As many people do, he kicked the idea of hiking the Appalachian Trail (A.T.). After researching it, trying to ignore the "scare stories" he'd heard about it, and debating it, he finally set off to walk the A.T. as a northbound hiker. (Northbound hikers start at the southern-most end of the trail and head north; southbound hikers, naturally, head north to south.)

He found himself in the company of an old friend, Katz, who managed to convince Bill that he needed someone to hike with. There are times throughout the book when Bill wondered if that had been a mistake, while other times, realizing that having Katz along was, by far, a blessing.

There were several places along the trail that the pair skipped over for various reasons. At one point, they even left the trail to go back to their "real lives" for a while. However, they did meet up to hike more of the trail.

Spoiler alert: they did not complete the north end of the trail, though one gets the impression that the pair has a certain amount of regret on this fact. But having hiked the majority of the Appalachian Trail is no small feat.

At times, the book drags a little in its descriptions and history of the trail (there are these kinds of trees along the path, with a list of the trees; there are these animals to watch out for; there are these horror stories of hikers lost and/or hurt), which left me almost thinking, "C'mon, Bill, what happened next on your hike?" But, the descriptions and history does help move the story along.

There are also portions of the book when I wish I hadn't been reading in waiting rooms, as I had to stifle a laugh or two, as there are absolutely hilarious parts of the book.

One last note: Bryson gave a nod to Grandma Gatewood, who was memorialized in Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail, by Ben Montgomery, another book worth reading.

All in all, Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail is worth the read.

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