View Full Version : New entertaining Appalachian Trail hike book--fantastic article
Avalanche1
05-18-2012, 15:50
Mainline Times article reviews book about a true 1600 mile hike on the Appalachian Trail, with laugh out loud moments, adventures and shocking surprises. There is hilarity such as being locked in an outhouse when the doorknob fell apart, and a goofy encounter with a rattlesnake. The book discloses backpacking dangers, including backpackers rescued in a mountain snow storm, and the murders of hikers--some of which are revealed in Avalanche and Gorilla, Appalachian Trail Adventures and Other Tales.You can readRalph Collier’s great review of Avalanche and Gorilla Jim at: http://mainlinemedianews.com/articles/2012/05/17/main_line_times/life/doc4fb514da423d0599549709.txt (http://mainlinemedianews.com/articles/2012/05/17/main_line_times/life/doc4fb514da423d0599549709.txt)
MyName1sMud
05-18-2012, 17:32
hmmmmmmmmmmm
at first i thought they were descibing "A Walk in the Woods"
Mountain Maiden
05-18-2012, 21:26
O-M-G---- don't know Avalanche--but if 'Gorilla Jim' is involved....this is a FUNNY story!! Avalanche--Did GJ ever tell you about his "Home Depot" episode?!
Can't wait to read it! Happy Sales to you!
Avalanche1
05-28-2012, 16:23
Hi Jason or MyNameIsMud,
Read this where they say this about Avalanche and Gorilla Jim, Appalachian Trail Adventures and Other Tales:
“The bulk of this book deals with backpacking the Appalachian Trail, and it is a worthy successor to Bill Bryson’s classic book on that subject, A Walk in the Woods. . . ."
Read Avalanche and Gorilla Jim and see if you agree.
Avalanche1
05-28-2012, 16:26
Jason or MyNameIsMud,
Whoops, here is the link to the site I mentioned: http://vvabooks.wordpress.com/2012/0...albert-dragon/ (http://vvabooks.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/avalanche-and-gorilla-jim-by-albert-dragon/)
Avalanche1
05-28-2012, 16:36
Mountain Maiden,
It's the same riotous Gorilla Jim! The laugh out loud story you mention is on pages 51 - 52 of Avalanche and Gorilla Jim, Appalachian Trail Adventures and Other Tales. There are many other belly laughs about Gorilla Jim and his antics. There is also some surprising information about his serious side that he doesn't usually talk about.
Enjoy it and let me know what you think about it.
Avalanche
I just visited the author's website and checked out the excerpts.
In addition to the humorous stories, there was one on dangers along the trail.
While I think the story of the 1990 murder of Molly LaRue and Geoffery Hood is very important and is entirely appropriate to include in most any book on the AT, the author's decision to include certain specific details stuck me as gratuitious-- to the point of being in poor taste.
Just my opinion. I have not read the entire entire book, just the snippets on the author's website.
Mrs Baggins
05-30-2012, 19:42
OOOOKAAAAYYY.....I have the book and started reading it right away.....as a 3 time reader of Bryson's book.....so far...not so funny. I'm going to keep reading and hope it gets better. I've read pretty much every single book written by and about AT hikers (at one point I owned more than 40 of them) and right now this one is just one more in the line. It's okay. I'm glad I'm reading it. But we'll see............
$7.99 for the kindle edition? That's worth the risk. Hope it's good.
Avalanche1
06-11-2012, 11:15
Hi Rickb,
I was interested in your comment about the murders of Molly LaRue and Geoff Hood as written by me in my recently released book Avalanche and Gorilla Jim, Appalachian Trail Adventures and Other Tales. You said: “the author's decision to include certain specific details struck me as gratuitous....” It is not possible to talk about torture and rape of a human being in soft tones. I did not want to back away from telling the truth about what happened to Molly and Geoff because it would be a disservice to them.
It may be that hearing of this is upsetting to some people. Look at it as Molly’s father, Jim LaRue (a former minister), did when he said, “The ultimate insanity would be to let fear destroy the trail.” He added, “They got my daughter’s life, for chrissake. Don’t give them the trail too.”
I know you had just read a snippet of the murders from my website. By now I hope you have read Avalanche and Gorilla Jim in its entirety and knowit is a lighthearted and often funny book--but one that honestly lets the reader feel what it is like to hike up the eastern spine of the US.