Are You Kidding Me?? A Walk in the Woods

[BlackJack1]

Springer to NF Gap took me 21 days or so. I stopped at Neels Gap, Haiwasee, Franklin, NOC, Fontana, and Gatlinburg. So, eight zero days for my bad knees. But who cares? just hike. if you make it great if not great.

[rocketsocks]

Springer to NF Gap took me 21 days or so. I stopped at Neels Gap, Haiwasee, Franklin, NOC, Fontana, and Gatlinburg. So, eight zero days for my bad knees. But who cares? just hike. if you make it great if not great.

I seem to remember you having some snow,and tornados to contend with.And yep,I'm with ya on that note,do what you can,and then maybe a little bit more.

[Coffee Rules!]

...pay someone to deliver Chardonnay to you every night in the shelter.

I'm not a fan of whites. If you'll make that something in a nice full bodied red, we can talk.

[BlackJack1]

There was mild snow, really bad leaves, I mean leaves passed my knees.

[WIAPilot]

I'm not a fan of whites. If you'll make that something in a nice full bodied red, we can talk.

LOL We are definitely going to need two bottles then!

[rocketsocks]

LOL We are definitely going to need two bottles then!

I wonder if anyone has brewed beer in a bag while hiking,gotta be.....

[WIAPilot]

I wonder if anyone has brewed beer in a bag while hiking,gotta be.....

I don't know if you saw a previous post of mine, but my dad was a drill instructor in the Army Rangers before Special Ops. I believe I was an infant, but later he would tell me that he would take his men up to the AT near Dahlonega, GA. He knew where all the mountain stills were up there. Maybe there are a few that are still going strong....

[rocketsocks]

I don't know if you saw a previous post of mine, but my dad was a drill instructor in the Army Rangers before Special Ops. I believe I was an infant, but later he would tell me that he would take his men up to the AT near Dahlonega, GA. He knew where all the mountain stills were up there. Maybe there are a few that are still going strong....

Yes I did,but forgot.So that what all the Special Ops references are.I'm sure theres still some stills up there,probably not to near the trail though,then again.....

[sailsET]

Having never hiked before, I found Bryson's book to be hilarious. I like his writing style, which was fun and easy to read. The other AT books I read before my very first hike didn't give me any idea of what it might be like to actually hike. So before my first small, and pitifully short, AT section hike in SNP, Bryson gave me a few previews of what I might find out there. And after carrying my loaded-down pack the first day, my friend and I joked about "doing a Katz," and pitching out gear. I could even understand throwing the 4 ounce coffee filters over the cliff, even though I live for coffee. Man, that pack was heavy!

[rocketsocks]

Having never hiked before, I found Bryson's book to be hilarious. I like his writing style, which was fun and easy to read. The other AT books I read before my very first hike didn't give me any idea of what it might be like to actually hike. So before my first small, and pitifully short, AT section hike in SNP, Bryson gave me a few previews of what I might find out there. And after carrying my loaded-down pack the first day, my friend and I joked about "doing a Katz," and pitching out gear. I could even understand throwing the 4 ounce coffee filters over the cliff, even though I live for coffee. Man, that pack was heavy!

Ah yes,
B~water
K~flung
B~spam
K~flung
B~salami
K~really flug
or somthin like that,LOL

[MuddyWaters]

If I were a thru-hiker, I'd take pride in the fact that the trail is so hard that even a guy that was paid to hike the trail couldn't finish it. And not only could he not finish it, he didn't even attept to finish it.

But for some reason, the reaction tends to be the opposite...he's a bum for not finishing the trail.

Id say he chose not to finish. The trail isnt that hard if you are in decent shape and carry a light pack. If you are 50 lbs overweight and carrying 55 lb pack , a lot of the southern AT would be difficult. But it does take a special mindset and committment to do the whole thing once the newness and excitement wears off. Each person who does has their own reasons. Id so most that quit find they just dont WANT to continue anymore.

[Odd Man Out]

Having never hiked before, I found Bryson's book to be hilarious. I like his writing style, which was fun and easy to read. The other AT books I read before my very first hike didn't give me any idea of what it might be like to actually hike. So before my first small, and pitifully short, AT section hike in SNP, Bryson gave me a few previews of what I might find out there. And after carrying my loaded-down pack the first day, my friend and I joked about "doing a Katz," and pitching out gear. I could even understand throwing the 4 ounce coffee filters over the cliff, even though I live for coffee. Man, that pack was heavy!

That too was my favorite part of the book. The idea of Katz jettisoning gear (and most of the food) left and right while climbing the approach trail really made me laugh. It also helped me to realize that this was book was going to be a good example of how not to hike the AT.

[Driver8]

Id say he chose not to finish. The trail isnt that hard if you are in decent shape and carry a light pack. If you are 50 lbs overweight and carrying 55 lb pack , a lot of the southern AT would be difficult. But it does take a special mindset and committment to do the whole thing once the newness and excitement wears off. Each person who does has their own reasons. Id so most that quit find they just dont WANT to continue anymore.

Exactly. Tedium.

[Driver8]

Oh come on, Driver! If you can comprehend "legalese," you are certainly capable of reading Rocket's posts! It's the content, man.

Um, ok. But it gives me a headache, so, no thanks, not for me. Not hard at all to hit a space bar after a period at the end of each sentence, a carriage return now and then for a new paragraph. Quality over quantity, man. :/

[Sarcasm the elf]

Not meaning to be unkind or a grammar freak, but does the space bar work on your computer/smartphone, rocketsocks? You're a fun read when I can read ya, but sometimes the endeavor of working through a post of yours is like bushwhacking through dense spruce. Give it some oxygen, Amigo!

For what it's worth, my iPhone allows me to post to the site, but it removes all formatting and paragraph breaks from my responses when I press the submit button... It gets frustrating.

Usually if I have something to write that is more than a few sentences long I wait until I am in front of an actual computer.

[Marta]

For a book published nearly 15 yrs ago, it is amazing how often it comes up....

AWITW is like sex--every genereation has to discover it for themselves, and then they think they're the first ones...

As someone else pointed out, Bryson says right in the book that he had six weeks to hike, then he was going to leave the trail to work, then would hike bits and pieces after that.

One of the things about the book that provokes people so strongly is that it defies the formula we open a hiking narrative to get: innocent sets out and grows into a man (or woman), overcoming obstacles and eventually triumphing. (Or dies trying.) At that moment when Bryson decides to skip up to Virginia, the reader suddenly knows that the book, like the Trail, is not going to be what they expected. Its like going into the theater to watch a two-hour movie and having the cast killed off after 30 minutes. Movie over. A lot of readers, like a lot of would-be thru-hikers, can't handle that.


The thing about the book is that, for all the comic exaggerations, he conveys the trials and tribulations of the novice hiker better than almost any other writer. Few writers even seem to understand how irrational newbies are when they are out there, cold, wet, hungry, confused, fearful, and in pain. The onset of the thru-hiking season is a crazy soap opera...much as Bryson describes.

Ah, well. The weekend is here. Time to pull the plug on the cyber world and go hiking! Hasta mañana.

[Biggie Master]

I saw Bryson do a book talk in my home town several years back... He's a funny guy, no doubt on that. Regardless of what you think or believe he actually accomplished on the trail - he wrote a pretty funny story about it. If it was a preconceived book concept, then good for him and his publisher for recognizing the potential. I'm actually a little envious that he could convince his bosses that a multiple week/month hike was part of his job. If I could convince my bosses of the same, I would be happy for any sections I could cover - even if it wasn't a complete thru hike.

[RockDoc]

Yes, there's an incredible freedom in not being expected to satisfy other people's expectations.
I'm doing the whole trail but there are parts I've done twice or three times, and other parts I would not want to repeat.

Section hikers are the happiest hikers, IMO. By the time they get to Maine, the thru hikers I saw were sick of it (trapped by what they had committed themselves to) and only talked about how many days until they were done. What a model to emulate...

I suspect most section hikers only hike the sections they like.

[rocketsocks]

I saw Bryson do a book talk in my home town several years back... He's a funny guy, no doubt on that. Regardless of what you think or believe he actually accomplished on the trail - he wrote a pretty funny story about it. If it was a preconceived book concept, then good for him and his publisher for recognizing the potential. I'm actually a little envious that he could convince his bosses that a multiple week/month hike was part of his job. If I could convince my bosses of the same, I would be happy for any sections I could cover - even if it wasn't a complete thru hike.

You bring up an interesting point.The travel narrative market was ripe when he wrote his book,he got in at a good time,as did his publisher,in the world of hiking books one could almost make the distinction that many more books about the trail,or narratives,were written ABB,After Bill Bryson,than BBB,before B.Bryson,don't know if the numbers confirm this,but the market is flooded right now with material,with no end in site.This likely is also due to home,or self publishing as well.

[Northern Lights]

I read this book because everyone kept telling me how funny it was. I didn't find it funny at all. I guess I expected more humour. It was an allright book but I wouldn't read it a second time.