View Full Version : Best book(s) on AT
I was wondering what the best book, or books, on the AT were. I am planning on hiking the trail in 3 years, so would like to get some good information. Thanks in advance.
S
Start with Earl Shaffer's "Walking with Spring"...
http://www.atctrailstore.org/
Rain Man
12-03-2005, 00:26
Then read J. R. Tate's "Walking on the Happy Side of Misery."
By all means, read Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods."
Rain:sunMan
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Long Distance Hiking : Lessons from the Appalachian Trail (http://www.atctrailstore.org/catalog/iteminfo.cfm?itemid=245&compid=1)
Too Tall Paul
SavageLlama
12-03-2005, 14:45
Read "Blind Courage" by Bill Irwin about his blind thru-hike with his Seeing Eye dog. Once you read when he went through, rainy days won't seem so bad.
I would think the best book ON the AT would be the one I found in a shelter but didn't have to carry. :D
By the time 3 years rolls by you will have read every book about the AT. read 'em all! I think I have. :jump
I realize the reading list is getting long, but I found "On the Beaten Path: An Appalachian Pilgrimage" by Robert Alden Rubin to be a good read on the mental aspects of the trail - as many will tell you, the mental aspect of completing a thruhike are about as challenging as the physical ones.
Regarding the physical aspects, this is a good read: "How to ***** in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art" by Kathleen Meyer.
Edit: Cool posting machine. It change a certain word to 4 stars, so I modified it to take out some of the guesswork. ;)
walkin' wally
12-03-2005, 18:37
Earl Shaffer's "Walking With Spring". It is neat to read it now and see a lot of the places that are not on the AT anymore. How few people were out there too. I've read it at least three times.
The 'Pinnacles Of The Dan' area looked challenging. There was an interesting story of how it came to be on the route to begin with.
MorrisseyFan
12-03-2005, 18:57
If I read your post right, trekmat, you're looking for good, current information.
Books are fun and have their place, but due to the constant changes in technologies, route changes on the AT, etc, they show their age as soon as they hit the shelves. The best places for info will probably be dynamic information sources, like, oh, I dunno...whiteblaze.net.
Having typed that, I really enjoyed reading Ed Garvey's THE NEW APPALACHIAN TRAIL. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0897322096/qid=1133650413/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-5218541-6987151?s=books&v=glance&n=283155). It's not so new anymore, being 15 years out of date, but I couldn't tear my eyes from its pages.
IMO my top three favorite books are:
"Walking on the Happy Side of Misery" - Model "T"
"On the Beaten Path" - "Rhyming Worm"
"A Walk in the Woods" (a lesson on what NOT to do!, but funny!) Bill Bryson
SKCM
I would recommend that you save your money if you are looking for a how to hike the AT book. Your best bet is to hang out at this site!
I really enjoyed As Far as the Eye Can See by David Brill
The book that convinced me was the first and only I read before I started my hike. (The Nat.Geo./ Readers Digest artical is how I discovered the AT a few days previous.) I'll bet most folks have never heard of it: An Appalachain Oddessy. I believe it came out in the late 70's
Spirit Walker
12-04-2005, 12:08
I liked Lynn Setzer's "A Season on the Appalachian Trail" and Larry Luxembourg's "Walking the Applachian Trail" best of the AT books I've read. They aren't just one hiker's view of their experience, but include many views. They're about thruhiking, rather than describing one thruhike.
As to the other kind, my favorite was Model T's book. It gave a good idea of what thruhiking is really like.
Fullmoon & Piglet
12-04-2005, 13:17
"A Season on the Appalachian Trail" by Lynn Setzer is a great book. Bryson's book takes a lot of verbal bashings by thru hikers, but his book has a lot of truths to it. Keep in mind that nearly 90% of those who attempt a thru-hike do NOT make it. That's reality. And of course "Walking with Spring" by the late great Earl Shaffer is a must read.
Okay, this is a little bit of self promotion, but I also encourage you to read my book, "Lie in My Grave" (Memories from an Appalachian Trail Hike) This book never made it to Ultimate AT Store with the ATC. (The ATC was afraid of the title which stems from the Dave Matthews Band song Lie in Our Grave and has nothing to do with anything bad, but clearly Mr.King at the ATC had no idea who DMB is). However, Mountain Crossings, MT. Roger's Outfitters, Sundog Outfitters, and the Outfitter at Harpers Ferry have all sold a significant amount of copies.
There was only about 1000 printed and there are now less then 40 remaining for sale. (Not counting anything that any of the outfitters may have left.)
Tabasco (who I believed is a member of WB) called it 'the best book I've ever read on the AT' at Trail Days in 2002.
Lie in My Grave is the brutally honest account of my hike from Springer to southern PA in 1999. I had hiked from Harpers Ferry to Katahdin in 96.
This is by no means a 'how to' book. It does provide insight to the personal interactions that occur during a long distance hike on the AT.
If you're interested contact me via my email address:
[email protected] or contact either MRO or Sundog Outfitters and they should be able to help you out.
Sorry if if this is deemed as me simply selling myself courtesy of WB.
I'm not sure how the ATC decides what to sell. They never got back to me about my book after they had me send a review copy. :-?
Rain Man
12-04-2005, 23:32
Okay, this is a little bit of self promotion, but I also encourage you to read my book, "Lie in My Grave" (Memories from an Appalachian Trail Hike) ... Sorry if if this is deemed as me simply selling myself courtesy of WB.
I for one am not offended by an honest, open, above-board, "buy-my-book/movie" post. More power to you. The ones that rub me the wrong way are the ones that don't really come out and disclose it's a sales pitch and/or a vested interest at stake and/or it's pretending to be a thru-hike when it's not. You're cool, man, so far as I'm concerned.
Rain:sunMan
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Sloghound
12-05-2005, 06:47
I've read Bryson's book. I thought it was very funny, but the convenience of his hilarious interactions with people rang false to me. I think, and significantly have been told by a knowledgeable repeat thruhiker, that it is largely fictional. You'll be able to tell which parts.
Bryson has a family to support, and living expenses in an expensive town when he wrote the book.
I really liked "As Far As The Eye Can See" by David Brill.
A friend, Nancy Shepherd, has written "My Own Hike". I encouraged her to write it. I like it! www.myownhike.com
Ed Garvey's book planted a seed in me that won't die.
Check out Warren Doyle's free, ultra short online AT "book"-
www.warrendoyle.com
I haven't read others, but will!
My favorite book of all time is "THE APPALCHIAN TRAIL READER".
Has accounts from thru-hikers, maintainers, history, Thoreau, Hawthorne, geology, etc.
The editor described it as a "patchwork quilt". And it is.
The Appalachian trail is made up of more than just hikers (which are featured). It is the person who homesteaded in the Shendoah, it is Thoreau on Katahdin, it is Wendell Berry talking about the peace of of wild things. It is both the eloquent voices of professional writers and the more raw, but heartfelt voice of the rest of the us. A quilt indeed. Just like the trail.
My copy is very dog eared. I read and re-read it before my own AT hike in 1998. Re-read it many times after the hike.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195100905/qid=1133821110/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-0234598-7736605?n=507846&s=books&v=glance
flyfisher
12-05-2005, 20:43
I for one am not offended by an honest, open, above-board, "buy-my-book/movie" post. More power to you. The ones that rub me the wrong way are the ones that don't really come out and disclose it's a sales pitch and/or a vested interest at stake and/or it's pretending to be a thru-hike when it's not. You're cool, man, so far as I'm concerned.
Rain:sunMan
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OK. Take a look at my book or even a listen to the first chapter. Buy one. Give one as a present for Christmas or New Year's. My wife says she is tired of the boxes of books in the living room. Information in my signature.
I own them al, have read them all and the one I liked best was, "There Are Mountaine to Climb" by Jean Deeds. Almost all of the books are wonderful. . I have never met Jean but have met some that hiked with her and her book just seemed to be simple and honest, I am one of those people that has to own every book ever written about the AT and when I die the Shaw Library in my hometown is going to inherit one hell of an AT collection.
Maxwell_Allen
12-05-2005, 22:18
I left a hardcover copy of harry potter #6 on the trail just north of Andover, Maine, carried from Gorham, NH... that sucker weighs 6 pounds so it will probably still be there in 3 years!
Books about the AT? read Bill Bryson, and do the exact opposite of everything he does. That way you will have an enjoyable and successful trip. Bryson, though a candyass and a whiner, is funny.
4-cheese
Oooh, Harry Potter. I think the only better trail book is Lord of the Rings.
Rain Man
12-06-2005, 11:11
OK. Take a look at my book or even a listen to the first chapter. Buy one. Give one as a present for Christmas or New Year's. ...
Okay, will put it on my Christmas list. My wife or one of my daughters should be in touch!
Rain:sunMan
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I left a hardcover copy of harry potter #6 on the trail just north of Andover, Maine, carried from Gorham, NH... that sucker weighs 6 pounds so it will probably still be there in 3 years!...
No it won't the shelter maintainer has probably already carried it out for you.
WOW! I would like to thank all of you who have written! Several of the suggestions will make it onto my Christmas list... Thanks again, and enjoy the holidays!
Cheers,
sean
saimyoji
12-06-2005, 23:15
Found this at REI.
Don't get eaten. :eek:
http://www.rei.com/product/47676844.htm
springerfever
12-07-2005, 09:40
Moxie00
What are your most prized AT books?
I too am an avid collector of AT books over the years. I had a pretty good collection going and then ran across Linda Pattons's FSU Library list of AT books . This pushed me over the edge and I have yet to recover. What a great passion.......can't wait till I can do my thru !!
http://friends.backcountry.net/m_factor/AT_bibliography.htm
an online journal that is a great read is below......enjoy!!
http://www.skwc.com/exile/Hail/Hail-pro.html
River Runner
01-29-2006, 00:17
I found Mouse's book, "Always Another Mountain" very interesting and informative as well as inspiring. I liked the way she organized it too, giving each days mileage as well as the total mileage at the head of each day's travel.
I realize the reading list is getting long, but I found "On the Beaten Path: An Appalachian Pilgrimage" by Robert Alden Rubin to be a good read on the mental aspects of the trail - as many will tell you, the mental aspect of completing a thruhike are about as challenging as the physical ones.Just picked this one up after Rockdancer told me he was in it. Terrific book. Not another day-to-day hiking journal but a well written book. I'm halfway through it and highly recommend it.
{Blush.} :o
Mouse where can we get this book?
eArThworm
01-29-2006, 02:58
Great book. One place to buy is online at amazon.com
In support of the ATC buy their books/maps. Everything else you can get from the web, including the AT companion.
It is on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I sent the ATC a sample copy months ago but so far they do not list it in their online store.
Rain Man
01-29-2006, 21:47
I recently found http://www.alibris.com - a GREAT site to find and purchase used and out-of-print books.
I got an autographed Appalachian Hiker, Adventure of a Lifetime, signed by Ed Garvey to a friend (Lew Pino) on the National Science Foundation.
Also got the two volume set, Hiking the Appalachian Trail, reports by all the early thru-hikers.
Plus, got Horace Kephart's Woodcraft (1933 print date), which is what got me started looking in the first place.
Anyway, I highly recommend alibris.com. I also got a new hardback there, which is only available in paperback elsewhere - A journey north : one woman's story of hiking the Appalachian Trail by Adrienne Hall.
Besides the above, I recently reread two books I'd recommend highly--
As Far As The Eye Can See by David Brill. I like how his chapters are more topical than a daily diary report. He also stayed a week in Hot Springs with Elmer on his farm. Cool. A good book.
Also, Walking North by Mic Lowther, who thru-hiked with his wife and their young daughter (age 11, I think). Another keeper.
Rain:sunMan
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I just ordered Mouse's book from the web site you recommend Rain Man. Thank you.
River Runner
01-29-2006, 23:26
Just picked this one up after Rockdancer told me he was in it. Terrific book. Not another day-to-day hiking journal but a well written book. I'm halfway through it and highly recommend it.
Not to disparage your point of view, but I found Mouse's day-to-day hiking journal made a very well written book that held my attention to the very end. I think there is definitely a need for a variety of styles, including the day-to-day journals.
eArThworm
01-30-2006, 00:02
I recently found http://www.alibris.com - a GREAT site to find and purchase used and out-of-print books...
Rain Man found alibris.com a great site for used books. But that's not the only one. There are websites, widely known in the world of librarians, that aggregate even MORE booksellers. Here’s a site that searches not only alibris BUT13 MORE sites all at once--more chances to find what you want--and you can find new OR used books: http://www.addall.com Give it a try. Another site used heavily is http://www.bookfinder.com which aggregates over 100,000 sellers of both new and used books. Between the two, you should be able to find (almost) any new or used book for that's for sale.
Rain Man
01-30-2006, 17:43
... Here’s a site that searches not only alibris BUT13 MORE sites all at once--more chances to find what you want--and you can find new OR used books: http://www.addall.com Give it a try. Another site used heavily is http://www.bookfinder.com which aggregates over 100,000 sellers of both new and used books.....
COOL!!! Thanks, Earthworm. I had no idea. Always thought Amazon was what I was stuck with. Nice to know about all these other, better sources for out-of-print books.
Rain:sunMan
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Jack Tarlin
01-30-2006, 18:33
My favorite remains Earl Shaffer's "Walking With Spring" which every prospective thru-hiker should read.
Mags also mentioned the excellent "Appalachian Trail Reader."
Another favorite is Shaffer's "Calling Me Back to the Hills". Honey and Bear from the Cabin in Andover managed to get me a signed copy shortly before Earl died. It's a prized possession, and while it's safely in storage now, sooner or later this beautiful book will find a place of honor in the living room on the coffee table.
But first I haveta start living in a place with a living room and a coffee table.
mweinstone
01-30-2006, 18:51
unless you read it till it falls apart and until you hold it high over all books written by man and untill you love it so much every single page seperates from the binding and you have to buy a new one every year and when you read it your on the trail in your mind like a crack head you must love it. all other books mean nothing.and when your feet touch the earth where his feet touched you are touching god!all other books must be burned!!burned i tell you !
:rolleyes: {giggle}:rolleyes:
I found Bryson's book hilarious. Whether it was entirely factual or not seems unimportant. After hearing some of the tall tales on this and other forums, I think we can all agree that hikers (like fishermen) should be given a little room to exaggerate. It makes for better fireside stories. Bryson inspired me to get out and try the AT, because I figured, if this guy can do it, anyone can. So I thank him for introducing me to the trail.
On a side note, does anyone know of any good fictional novels that are set on the AT? The only one I've heard of (at least by a well-known author) is Stephen King's "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon". It's about a girl who gets lost while day-hiking on the AT with her family somewhere in Maine, I think. In typical Stephen King fashion, she experiences all kinds of crazy stuff in the wilderness... and the only thing that keeps her sane is listening to Red Sox games on her walkman. I bought a copy of the paperback... but I'm saving it for my section hike this summer.
Then read J. R. Tate's "Walking on the Happy Side of Misery."
Rain:sunMan
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"Walking on the Happy Side of Misery" is awesome!!! My husband and I passed it back and forth, neither of us wanted to put it down. J.R. Tate (Model-T) has a new book "Walking with the Ghost Whisperers"....I can't wait to read it!!!!!:sun :) :sun
eArThworm
02-11-2006, 23:29
I've put the 2005 A.T. memoirs in my blog at http://trailsbib.blogspot.com.
Check it out.
Hey Lump 76, about the fiction stuff.
My wife mailed me a copy Stephen King's "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" while I was thru hiking in 2000. I made jokes about not being sure if I wanted to read a King story about the hiking in Maine while spending every day out there and I was just a few weeks from being there.
I did enjoy it, but I don't think it's much of a scary book for AT hikers. I thought is was funny, not a good thing for Stepen King. Most any hiker will know what he hides in the bushes and dark, long before it happens. It's just trail life.
The story goes, (...with thru-hiker comment):
I'm hiking... me too.
I gotta pee... sh**t happens
I'm lost...me too a couple of times.
I'm hungry...wish I had a checker berry pizza.
It's dark... every night.
My radio won't work... Crap, one extra AAA doesn't weigh that much
It's cold and wet... wish I hadn't mailed my rain suit home.
It's hot and muggy... glad I mailed my rain suit home.
It's dirty... me or my gear? me and my gear
It makes me itch... especially in my privates
It makes me fall down... 23 times, maybe more.
It made me cry... and laugh like a hyena
It scratched me... then cut me, bruised me and kicked my butt.
It made a noise... it snored
It stalked me... A stalker bear...for days... for miles...across many swamps.. it wants to eat me???!!!
I'm a skinny, crying, swearing, laughing, hungry, wet, cold, dirty, itchy, bruised, cut, scratched, lost, snoring hiker with a dead battery and it wants to eat me.
Really!!! I think it's the other way around, I want to eat him! Ummmm... bear-burger in paradise. Yum!
Gordon gets the sign...here's the pitch...he swings....Strike three and he's outta there. Good game Stephen, better luck next time. Cujo...now that's a whole different kink of ball game.
(My apologies to Mr. Stephen King, one of my favorite story tellers.)
saimyoji
02-12-2006, 12:06
Krewzer: I think you just spoiled the book for lump..I don't think lump's read it yet. Oh well...Personally, I didn't care too much for this one.
Another one, not on the AT I don't think, but in the woods is Dreamcatcher, also by King. I prefer his short stories to his novels: check out skeleton crew and nightshift.
Oops..........Sorry Lump. Read it anyway. See if you can guess what other gruesome and grizzly things lurk in the wilderness.
Awol2003
05-14-2006, 02:11
My book Awol on the Appalachian Trail was not in print at the time that these posts were made - but it is now (May 2006)! I hope to make the list of "best Thru-hike books" someday. It is available now from www.AWOLontheTrail.com (http://www.AWOLontheTrail.com), and will soon be in the ATC catalog. My website has a "read excerpts" feature showing about 15 pages.
I am also an avid reader, and I have read most of the books mentioned in these posts.
Walking With Spring is a classic. I like the pictures interleaved with the text - that is a feature I also have in my book (Awol on AT includes 42 pictures, and a thumbnail map at the start of each chapter).
Long Distance Hiking has much useful information. It helped me make many decisons in my thru-hike preparations (boots or running shoes / to filter or not to filter).
Awol 2003
im with spirit walker, 'a season on the appalachian trail' is a great book as you hear from more then one point of view
(member.php?u=1343)
wilconow
05-30-2006, 12:26
Great:
As far as the eye can see.. The guy knows how to write. I would find his writing about pretty much anything to be worth reading. And this was on the AT.. excellent, excellent book.
Good:
Walking North.. very unique since he did it with his family
Lynn Selzer's book.. the journalistic style is nice
Rubin...another good writer, but I didn't particularly like the guy
Worth reading:
Bryson
DON'T BUY:
White Blaze Fever
I brought this book along with me on this past weekend's bp'ing trip. It doesn't seem fair that such a poor writer was able to come out with a book. Damn Bryson. But it gets better. Not only does the guy write like Mr. Rogers, but his "tips" are comicial. Worse than anything they put in a 'dummies' book. This is a typical entry from the guy:
I walked out of the shelter and boy it was raining! It was raining very hard! I saw some day hikers and they said it was wet. I came back with "Glad we got rain jackets!
HIKER TIP:
I brought a lightweight, breathable rain jacket. This kept me dry and allowed me to breathe!
Also, this past weekend I met a guy hiking the trail for the 2nd time, Postcard. He recently came out with a book about his first thru. Seemed like a nice, intelligent guy with some good tips about going light. I just purchased his book. Here's the link:
www.xlibris.com/TheWildernessOfAwes.html
Has anyone read this?
corentin
05-31-2006, 11:12
My sister borrowed Model T's book a while ago and it hasn't come back home yet, but she gave me back " A journey North " within a week. we both loved " Walking on the Happy Side of Misery", my favorite so far. Will reread it if I can ever get it back.