Reader² book:A Walk in the Woods : Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

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A Walk in the Woods : Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

As somebody who's actually hiked the Appalachian trail, I appreciate the fact that Bryson enlightens his readers with the dangers the A.T. is facing, in a way that makes them think they actually want to be educated on this matter. But, overall, I found it annoying that many people responded to my quest by asking me if I had read this book. Finally, at the end of my hike, I subjected myself to it. Many of the experiences that Bryson had on the trail were familiar. I read the words, and said to myself, "Yes, that's the way it was." But really, something was off. Bryson's book left me with none of the feeling that the trail gave to me. The words on the paper are right, but the entire feel of the book is wrong. After I read his book, my main thought was: "That's not what the Appalachian Trail was to me." Talking to many thru hikers, even ones whose inspiration to hike the trail had been Bryson's book, I found that many agreed, though mostly they had fights to pick about Bryson's hyperbole. I know what they mean. In his section on Maine he describes climbing a 15 foot vertical cliff. I remember that place, and let me tell you that it was about 6 feet high, and had a very conveinent little place to step in the middle. Anyway, Bryson is not just exaggerating: about some things on the trail, one cannot exxagerate, for there is nothing more superlative than the A.T., in some instances. Bryson's book is funny, but it shouldn't be deemed as an authoritative voice of the A.T.

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