A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson
February 21st, 2006 . by Quinton
Bill Bryson decided to walk the Appalachian Trail in 1998. That’s a walk over 2,100 miles from Georgia to Maine. Through forests and over countless mountains. Before reading A Walk In The Woods I knew very little about the AT. But I love camping and spending time outdoors and wish I had more time for it. I’ve done a bit of walking on the west coast in California and Oregon, and a bit in New Zealand, but nothing as extensive as the experience Bryson and others have embarked on the AT.
A small percentage of people who attempt the AT even get a quarter of the way through. And only a fraction of those actually make it to Mount Katahdin in Maine. The trek takes around 8 months for most who complete the journey. Like all Bryson novels, it’s full of interesting facts and stories of those who’ve attempted the trail before him, horror stories of being stranded in the extreme weather, and bears. I really like the book, and although I don’t think I’ll be attempting a through walk of the entire AT anytime soon, there were parts of the trail that I think I’d really enjoy. So much of the trail is extremely undeveloped and scarcely traveled. In some areas Bryson went entire days without seeing another hiker on the trail. Which is amazing since the north eastern United States is one of the most densely populated areas of the world.
Bryson also spent a chapter talking about how modern technology has infiltrated the AT. “The nuisance of satellite navigation devices, cell phone, and other such appliances in the wildernesses”, as he put it “have brought a measure of civilization that simply doesn’t belong in the woods.” A hiker once called up a National Guard Unit in Maine asking for a helicopter to pick him up and take him back to his car because he was tired. Another hiker called and requested a helicopter because he was a day behind schedule and was afraid he would miss an important business meeting. People are bringing laptop computers and navigation devices that give you their exact longitude and latitude to a hundredth of a degree but these same people don’t carry a map! I agree with Bryson that the point to getting out and enjoying the outdoors is that you could detach yourself from such modern constraints and walk the woods, untouched. Bryson wrote this book in 1998. I’m sure by now people are posting daily on their blog from the Appalachian Trail.
Bill Bryson’s so rad. This book is in my stack of books I want to read next. Don’t you just love his writing style?
It is so very difficult to find the will, let alone the time to do the entire AT. I’ve done many sections of it and I highly recommend you take a trip up to Baxter State Park and do the last 11 miles up Mt Katahdin. “The County” (Aroostook, Maine) is an amazing place.
jilly:
I love how conversational Bryson can be in his novels. In this book he writes a disclaimer at the beginning along the lines of ‘names have been changed to protect’ ect.
robbie:
I would really love to take the trip up to Maine and spend a week just walking. Now I live in Australia, so I don’t know if I’ll find the time soon. But I have family in upstate New York, so the next time I’m out there I’ll have to see about jumping on the AT.
Did you read ‘A Walk In The Woods’ and if so, what did you think of Bryson’s viewpoint?