A Journey North: One Woman's Story of Hiking the Appalachian Trail

Adrienne's narrative of life on the AT is often repetitive of tales from other AT accounts, but I always find something different and refreshing from someone else's telling of them. Taken into the family of AT literature it can offer another perspective and another take of life on the AT. Her descriptions of what the hike did to her emotionally and the inner growth she experiences and her love for her boyfriend was a refreshing take. This is also an excellent account of a woman's experience of the AT, which I had never read a narrative of. Adreinne also offers a refreshing perspective of resource management, and I found her opinions on land use and how the for-proftis have their eyes set on the outdoors and our wallets a good lesson.

I thought this book was great, but then again I am biased because I plan on hiking the Appalachian trail with my wife in the same winter conditions that Adrienne and her fiancee faced. Throw in the dog, and I am even more entertained. Do not look for information on the trail, but rather an overall emotional story with this book.

well, i was hoping to experience the appalachian trail through a woman's eyes. i had read a couple of books about hiking the trail written by guys and there was often this 'what's she doing here' attitude when they discribed the rare woman hiker. like, only grandma gateway had a right to hike, and only because she did it in such an unusual way. but this book is not really a journal of a woman thru-hiking the a.t.. it's a collection of environmental essays about how this woman feels about preserving the wilderness using the hike as a backdrop. but i figured, hey, i'm just the armchair hiker here, SHE actually did it. so whatever book she was inspired to write, i'll read it. well, reading addriene's book gave me an idea of what i'd be like if i ever actually tried hiking the trail. yup, it wouldn't take me long to weasel out of white blazing and skip right to blue and even yellow just to get to the next place faster and easier. because at first i read every single essay. and they are very informative and well researched essays. and truly from her heart. but they did go on and on. and after a few chapters, whenever the writer would head off the trail and onto the soapbox, yep, i'd start page skipping to get back to the hike. but however you choose to read this book, it is an important work. this generation needs its rachel carsons. and even though her message about protecting the wilderness would have been more effective if she had spent more time taking the reader into these last, wild places that she loves so much, i recommend this book. and, hey, she hiked over 2,000 miles. she did it!

The author does a wonderful job of bringing to light the environmental issues surrounding not only the AT, but what is occurring in all wilderness areas around the world. I found the book informative and interesting. It lacks the humorous wit of Bryson's "Walk in the Woods", but the author speaks in her own voice, and I'm sure she did not intend to produce a book that was to be placed side-by-side with Bryson's. She may not have spent a great deal of time explaining the fundamental changes that occurred to her during the hike, but I think her voice is loud and clear when it comes to getting a feel for the emotional highs and lows that a hiker goes through during the journey. I had a romantic vision of the trail until I read this book, and now I understand that to undertake such an adventure as hiking the entire trail is not something to take lightly. It has made me reconsider my own plans for hiking the trail and what my true motivation is for taking on such a task. I enjoyed the book, and often times felt like I was on the trail with the author.

Adrienne Hall tell it like it is when her and her boyfriend hike the AT. I reccomend it for anyone who likes the outdoors!