Outdoor books and upset hikers

I love to read, I read every chance I get, my mom was a librarian so it's real bad for me..it's in my blood..
Anyway, I tend to read a lot of outdoor and travel books, things that relate to my life right now.
One of my fav authors is bill Bryson, i'm sure you all know him for A Walk In The Woods, where the overweight clumsy guy and his odd pal attempt to hike the AT...tons of mishaps and some humor...I think it's a great book.
So getting to my point, I was hiking the other day when I got into this conversation of the AT with a few guys who have thru hiked it twice. They took it very seriously, as if they were special and i should treat them as such...anyway, i metioned the only knowledge i have of the AT I learned fromn brysons book. Well, that didn't make them happy at all...they went on for ever putting him down and telling me that because of that guy, the AT is overcrowded with fools like him trying to hike on it. Well, here's what I think, those two are idiots, I get inspired from that book, it's humurous and makes me want live and do fun things...and i highly doubt the At is going to be extremely over run with people anytime soon...

I think many people get inspired to hike in equally strange ways. No matter what though, everybody starts off at least once as a newbie and it's what you learn and what you put into practice thereafter that counts. If a "moron" hikes the AT just because they read Bryson's book, there's a good chance they could have ended up there for an equally random reason or they could have ended up bumbling around some other outdoor activity. I don't think any book tells people to go hike Washington in the winter, wearing only shorts and a t-shirt with no food and water but people still do it.

WOW Dr. Wu & Wierd Al

What a thread... 2 of my hero's in cinema... LOL jk

Is this really Weird Al?

Well said Dr.Wu!
I started my hiking career many years ago in Vermont. Could not even read a road map at the time. Took a ride in the VW "beetle" and was astounded when I saw the Vermont welcome sign. Yes.... until that moment I lived a sheltered life.
I cannot describe my euphoria when I saw Fort Dummer State Park and discovered paths in the woods with little colored blazes. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it possible that real people slept in tents, had campfires and meandered throught the woods. My dreams had come true.
I can still remember my first ride on the Cog and asking the rangers at the desk in the observatory where one would find the trail at the base to hike to the summit. He gave me a list of warnings regarding safety issues and I put Washington on the back burner for a while.
No Bill Bryson to inspire me, but I love his book.
I have a large collection of mountaineering books but I have yet to climb K2, Everest or Denali. I think it's safe to say that where those peaks are concerned I will remain an "armchair mountaineer".
Happy trails to all!

Before the Bryson book, unprepared AT thru-hikers were blamed for receiving their inspiration to hike from other sources, like magazine articles or having met a thru-hiker or being curious about where those white blazes led. However, every year there are some "real" hikers that quit early on, and "foolish" hikers that complete the journey - so who's to say how or why anyone should be placed into either category?

I think every sport or activity (music, art) has its folks who like to feel special regarding the "purity" with which they approach their subject. They're usually called snobs or elitists. But I guess at that, sometimes people just need to get some things off their chest. Maybe the guys you met were pissed off at one person and generalized about an entire group. We're all human.

As a volunteer AT trail worker for twenty five years, I was appalled to read about these two Beavis and Butthead slob hikers, who jettisoned their excess gear from the top of an overlook. Some may find this funny, but those of us who have to pick it up and pack it out do not.

Some of us have invested a lot of time and care into the AT, and we do find it sad that this kind of low life humour gains such popularity. I can see how this would appeal to non-backpackers, trying to make a virtue out of sloth.

I too have met thru-hikers who take themselves too seriously and look down on other hikers as lesser beings, especially slack packers who claim to be thru hikers, but this is understandable given the amount of time and effort they put into the endeavor.

I haven't thru-hiked the AT, but it remains a lifelong dream. If some think this makes me an elitist, so be it.

I found the book enjoyable to some degree, but quite disappointing in another way. It was billed (perhaps by the publishers, not Bryson) as the story of a thru-hike and it clearly was never intended to be that. I think he was a bit disengenous about calling is trip a thru-hike which means something special to a lot of people.

Regardless, he's a funny writer, and Katz was a great character, but the book gives lots of misconceptions about life on the trail, some bad advice, and some factually incorrect details (which is actually par for his work, he is a lousy fact checker or just doesn't care).

-dave-

John Graham said:

. . . I too have met thru-hikers who take themselves too seriously and look down on other hikers as lesser beings, especially slack packers who claim to be thru hikers, but this is understandable given the amount of time and effort they put into the endeavor.

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This attitude may be "understandable," but that does not make it anything less than bullstuff.

To my way of thinking, there are few activities more inclusive, by their nature, than hiking. So I find both ridiculous and offensive those jerks who carry around attitudes like that, which are specifically intended to marginalize and exclude people who are different from themselves. This is the kind of manure that has polluted just about every aspect of our "civilized" society, from which the woods and hiking trails provide usually pleasant and always welcome respite.

A copy of Bryson's book sits on my bookshelf, a gift from one of my siblings some years go. I read it, laughed a bit now and then, but mostly was quite glad when I finished up because the book did not "speak" to me for several reasons. Other people have told me they enjoyed it immensely. Different tastes prevail when it comes to literature and hiking. And maybe appreciating and celebrating that fact -- rather than making everything into dum-dum either/or propositions -- is what ought to be clebrated.

Rant and rebuke over. For now, anyway.

G.

Slack Packer

I love the sound of it. But I did not know what it meant, so naturally I googled it:

Slack-packer: A thru-hiker who day hikes without their backpack. A lot of hikers do this - they leave their backpack at a hostel, get a ride to the trail, slack for the day, get picked up further down the trail, and go back to the hostel for the night. That way they don't have to carry the weight of a full pack. (Note: I never did this.)

a WALK in the woods

seems the true intention of this book has been overlooked: to make you laugh. it was not intended as a mantra for hiking the A.T.

"Bryson impulsively set about hiking the Appalachian Trail, a 2200-mile long path that stretches from Georgia to Maine. His companion on this adventure was one Stephen Katz, an equally ill-prepared and overweight gent with a penchant for beer and donuts. Together they scaled mountains, forded streams, and braved the elements. The result is A Walk in the Woods, an absolutely hilarious book and the story of what happens to two hapless middle-aged guys who go for a walk in the wilderness and find themselves hopelessly out of their depths."

My daughter gave me a copy of Bryson's book and it added just that little push to a desire I'd always had. The next year I started sectioning the AT and by now I've done the entire northern half (from Harpers Ferry) minus a few bits and pieces. Have I slack packed from time to time? ABSOLUTELY! For me it's not about how much work you can do, it's about how much enjoyment you get out of it, and I've had plenty. It was my AT White Mountains traverse in 2002 (going Hut-to-hut, so of course we were slack packing) that got me into New England peakbagging.

I think the Katz character (the one who ditched his excess stuff) was probably a literary exageration. Sort of the Costello to Bryson's Abbot. I don't think most readers would take his behavior as anything more than comic relief, certainly I wouldn't think any reader would use it as an inspiration to litter (of course you never know). Bryson himself showed real learning as he went along. By his last miles, somewhere in the 100 mile wilderness, he comes across as a reasonably competant backpacker. Just like us!

IMHO, purists (and I've met my share) get upset because 1) Bryson makes fun of what they consider VERY SERIOUS STUFF and 2) his book has sold 10 or maybe 100 times as many copies as SERIOUS ACCOUNTS.

If you haven't read it, give it a read. I loved it. I just got another Bryson book for Christmas: A Short History of Nearly Everything. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Pb

Grumpy said:

To my way of thinking, there are few activities more inclusive, by their nature, than hiking.

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I've been introduced to folks as a hiker. Among some (gym) climbing folk I've known I've been introduced as a climber. More rarely I've been introduced as a backpacker. Depending on my mood when introduced in the above ways, some more correct than others I answer, with a bit of a shrug:

"I walk"

This outdoor thing is so neat because it's just that: walking, be it in the snow, uphill, downhill, across the country, using hands and feet, whatever. Pretty much anybody can do it.

It always surprises me how some folk take it oh so very seriously, even when covered in mud up past their thighs....

Interesting thread...seems to be 2 topics being discussed in here, the book, and elitist hikers...

I've read the book, and I wasn't all that thrilled with it. I agree with what David Metsky said, in that I went into reading it thinking it was going to be a narrative of a thru-hike, and once I realized it wasn't, the book lost some weight with me. And quite frankly, I really didn't even find it that funny.

As far as elitist hikers, or whatever they're being called...there's people like that in every aspect of life, I've learned to ignore them, much like they like to ignore me. C'est la vie...

As far as an excellent portrayal of an AT thru-hike, which makes my feet itch even more, check out: TREK - 4 guys doing the trail from May 1, 2001 - Oct 1, 2001 (they were on the trail for Sept. 11th)...the guys are a little nerdy, but it's a very enjoyable watch...

What I was trying to say earlier, and I wasn't being very clear is:

Just because the Bryson book may be a motivator for some people does not automatically make those people foolish or unprepared.

Shadowcat makes a very good point: the book clearly states it is a humorous account of woefully underprepared and overwhelmed people. It does not claim to be a serious account. Bryson does not claim to be a thru-hiker. The book does not claim to be a guide for learning how to hike, camp, or leave-no-trace travel in the woods.

I'll fully admit to being a hiking snob ("and what are THOSE people doing starting up the mountain at 4 in the afternoon in jeans and sandals, with no water or food?"), and yeah, I've thru-hiked the AT. Regardless of what you think of "A Walk in the Woods", Bryson has hiked more of the AT for a continuous stretch than most hikers. Despite his admitted unpreparedness he didn't require rescuing, and he lived to talk about it. He's earned some bragging rights.

Long distance backpackers have a lot in common with peak baggers, an obsessive-compulsive drive that can provoke ridicule in a lot of hikers, tinged by a bit of envy. They can be tough to relate to if you don't share their obsession.

Bryson made his name by poking fun at AT Thru-hikers, and I'll admit that he did score some points, but I finished the book more fed up with him than thru-hikers. I might find this guy funny for an hour in an empty lean-to, but I would be more than happy to leave him behind by morning.

I did go on to read "Notes From a Small Island", in part because I also spent a decade in Britain, and though his portayal of a seedy Bed and Breakfast did hit the mark, I wound up even more fed up with Mr Bryson. Take away his self-indulgent satire and his comic self deprecation and you are not left with much of anything.

Dugan said:

What I was trying to say earlier, and I wasn't being very clear is:

Just because the Bryson book may be a motivator for some people does not automatically make those people foolish or unprepared.

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This is a wonderful point, and right on the money.

G.

Having read the book 4 times in the past 5 or so years, (Just recently again over Christmas) I always get a kick out of it. (I carry a British passport but wasn't offended, though I will pick up "Notes From a Small Island" after having worked years ago in my uncle's small pub in the Lake District).
I beleive the guy just gave an account as seen through his eyes and nothing more - I find him kind of mild-mannered, but none the less, funny.
I didn't take anything he said as really knocking a thru-hiker.

I strongly beleive the book connected with folks who know very little or nothing about the AT and are somewhat scared of being alone in the woods (My Bank President Golf Club carrying Brother-in-law, for one who thinks it is paved and has soda machines every few miles). I think it enlightened many.

I beleive where some Thruhiking enthusiastics had an issue with this was that it brought the entire AT spectrum into mainstream America and made it a bit less mysterious and broke down the barriers into thru-hiking by opening the door for many novices to give it a twirl.

I say bring 'em on. This isn't an exclusive club and if you wish to try for it, you should - There is nothing elitist about it though some are not as humble.

I have been section hiking for a few years now, but only have NJ, PA and a few miles in VT, MA & NH. Not enough to have more than 15% done - Much of it was even dayhikes and in & out backpacks. For the last 4 years I lived by the trail in PA and would meet up with thruhikers and trundle their packs (sometimes lending my daypacks to them) to pre-arranged meeting spots so they could slackpack various bits of the trail. I don't think their experiences were any less rewarding.

Of my 5 friends who have completed thruhikes, one completed his hike this year and wouldn't even mention Bryson by name. He was so angry at the book and all the folks he met asking him "didja read the book?" "didja read the book?" (He also wouldn't mention the "R" word after coming through PA).
I couldn't understand his anger at this.

But then again, I am not a thruhiker, as Warren put it (I think Colin Fletcher originally coined it) "I am a walker".

"ouch! ... mmmm ... ouch! ... mmmm ... ouch!..."

John Graham said:

...but I finished the book more fed up with him than thru-hikers.... I did go on to read "Notes From a Small Island" ... I wound up even more fed up with Mr Bryson.

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How madder will you be at him after you read his next book

Please forgive me, but this reminds me of a Simpsons episode where Homer is in a Skinner box and gets an electric shock everytime he takes a donut (I think it was donuts -- maybe it was beer), but he keeps on eating the donuts ("ouch! ... mmmm ... ouch! ... mmmm ... ouch!...")

I just read 'A Walk in the Woods' a few weeks ago and enjoyed it immensely. I never expected it to be an authoritative guide to hiking the AT.

It is clear to me that Bryson loves the outdoors and doubt very much that the gear dumping incidents actually took place. The 'over-the-top' friend Katz, and indeed Bryson himself, are characters. While based on his actual experiences on the trail I am sure some of the incidents were contrived or embellished for comic effect. It is what one would expect such characters to do.

I compare Bryson's book to serious literature as one would a sitcom to a documentary. His book and a sitcom have the intent to entertain and so their characters do outlandish things. Can you imagine how entertaining 'Becker' would be if it accurately reflected the workings of a doctors office?

I also recently watched 'Touching the Void' and yet feel no more compulsion to climb mountains poorly provisioned than I do to dump gear on the trail. Mind you, there have been times when I've thought how much easier the rest of a hike would go if I threw most of the contents of my pack away

Bob