View Full Version : Ancient journals still worth reading?
Before there was a Whiteblaze, and before there was an Internet, Rodale Press published a 2000+ page anthology of AT thru-hike journals. ("Hiking The Appalachian Trail", 1975.) I wonder how many WBers have seen or read that book. Maybe a few of the old fogies. Have online journals relegated that big fat book (actually, 2-volume set) to the dust bins of history? Or is it still relevant? Is there an eBook version?
Anyway, when I think about now vs. back then... that book was how I tried to clue myself in about the trail and the thru-hiking experience. With the library having a short (like 2-week) loan period, I kept having to lug it back and forth in order to renew it. Years later I picked up my own copy on eBay.
Hikes in Rain
03-21-2014, 17:29
No ebooks that I know of. But yes, absolutely worth reading, and worth preserving. Maybe there should be an electronic version. It's a slice of history; do we just throw history into the dust bin :) or can we learn from it. One of the things I like to do is compare my travels with the reports of those who went before me to get a grip on the changes the trail has taken. My copy is a prized possession.
Have a copy on my shelf.
As I said before, equipment and clothing may change. But the love of the journey and the outdoors does not.
takethisbread
03-21-2014, 18:33
I still say an old journal, called "then the Hail came " by George Steffanos is the best AT book ever written, even tho it wasn't really a book, just an old journal thrown up on the internet many years after the hike. it's legend has grown over time. unlike Cheryl Strayd's melodramatic indulgent snorefest, Wild, Steffanos story is a real glimpse of a young man going through something, and not entirely finding the answers on the trail, but learning a bit about himself.
http://www.skwc.com/exile/Hail-nf.html
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Not a Cheryl Strayed fan, eh? I get the idea she's done for the PCT what Bryson did for the AT years back. A bit too much anguish over the dead mama, but otherwise an OK read, I thought. Remembering that bit about her town stop, where she learns that Jerry Garcia had died.
vamelungeon
03-21-2014, 19:24
If that is that huge 2 volume set, yes I've got it and I've read it. It's still relevant.
vamelungeon
03-21-2014, 19:24
I still say an old journal, called "then the Hail came " by George Steffanos is the best AT book ever written, even tho it wasn't really a book, just an old journal thrown up on the internet many years after the hike. it's legend has grown over time. unlike Cheryl Strayd's melodramatic indulgent snorefest, Wild, Steffanos story is a real glimpse of a young man going through something, and not entirely finding the answers on the trail, but learning a bit about himself.
http://www.skwc.com/exile/Hail-nf.html
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I think so too. And it's free to read.
The link didnt work. Id like to read that.
The link didnt work. Id like to read that.
Worked for me. But just as easy -- google "then the hail came" -- it's the 2nd hit.
WingedMonkey
03-21-2014, 20:11
There is also an edited and condensed version of the original Hiking The Appalachian Trail titled Great Stories of Hiking the Appalachian Trail edited by Debra Smith.
A preview is available at Google Books.
http://books.google.com/books?id=6vlUvHiK_lIC&pg=PR4&lpg=PR4&dq=%22Hiking+The+Appalachian+Trail%22+Rodale+Press&source=bl&ots=wqBHRoAsK_&sig=Y714juXq0ITTRI6U1sezsKA1ucM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=MNAsU6DQC4WMyQH91YHIDA&ved=0CFwQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=%22Hiking%20The%20Appalachian%20Trail%22%20Rodal e%20Press&f=false
There is also an edited and condensed version of the original Hiking The Appalachian Trail titled Great Stories of Hiking the Appalachian Trail edited by Debra Smith.
A preview is available at Google Books.
http://books.google.com/books?id=6vlUvHiK_lIC&pg=PR4&lpg=PR4&dq=%22Hiking+The+Appalachian+Trail%22+Rodale+Press&source=bl&ots=wqBHRoAsK_&sig=Y714juXq0ITTRI6U1sezsKA1ucM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=MNAsU6DQC4WMyQH91YHIDA&ved=0CFwQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=%22Hiking%20The%20Appalachian%20Trail%22%20Rodal e%20Press&f=false
Great link, thanks. That's a serious condensation, from 2000 pages to 226. But it's a start.
Kerosene
03-22-2014, 15:30
I posted my 1970's section hike journals on Trailjournals a while back: http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=259368
I think my writing style was pretty good for a male teenager, but it's certainly better now.