A Season On The Appalachian Trail
Book Summary
Lynn Setzer spent hundreds of hours interviewing on the fly and reading the diaries of people who were ‘through-hiking’ the Appalachian Trail in 1996. Some of these hardy souls (and feet!) were determined and experienced, planning to go from Georgia to Maine straight through while others were doing a section at a time or actually not sure of their final plans. As she notes their experiences you become immersed in a world of mountain and valley names, the impact of simple things like sharing a trail snack, new forms of foot pain, and the reality of hiking a 2100 mile trail which crosses national parks, interstate roads, phenomenal wilderness areas and intersecting a few Trail Angels.
Product Details
Price: $14.95
Paperback: 222 pages with black and white photos
Author: Lynn Setzer
Publisher: Appalachian Trail Conference, Menasha Press
Year Published: 1997, 2001
Language: English
ISBN: 0-89732-382-3
Images
silversummit - Oct 3, 2009 6:37 pm - Voted 4/5
Can’t imagine thru-hiking AT without reading this….In some ways I think she was at her best describing the problems hikers had and how they improvised solutions. When a backpack rubbed a hip raw they picked up discarded foam from a trash can in town etc. or used dental floss (p. 124) creatively. Post offices were critical for re-supplying, getting mail and sending back unnecessary weight! They also meant hot, restaurant food and maybe a soft bed and shower or at least a grassy yard might be offered for a chore for just for no reason.
While this is definitely NOT a how to hike the Appalachian Trail book it certainly helps balance the factual guides with human interest and gives heart to those who hike and live near the trail.