Walking with Spring: The First Thru-Hike of the Appalachian Trail

Earl Shaffer was a man of few words, and this memoir of his first Appalachian Trail thru-hike in 1948 is no different. This is not a book someone picks up to learn about thru-hiking; there are practically no descriptions of the actual Trail itself, and the amount of road walking Shaffer had to do may have been the genesis of the misperception that the Appalachian Trail is a casual walk through the bucolic countryside of Appalachia. The gear and footwear he used are as anachronistic today as vacuum tubes. Doesn't matter. "Walking With Spring" is not a book to physically or materially prepare one for an Appalachian Trail thru-hike, although it could provide some psychological reinforcement. It is instead a memoir of a period in time, the aftermath of WWII, and the recuperative power of the outdoors on the human psyche. John Burroughs and John Muir both knew this, as did Emerson, Thoreau and Frost. This is the argument in defense of A.N.W.R. and other wild places: they are absolutely necessary, albeit often intangibly so. "Walking With Spring" also seems to belong to a different era, the era of intrepid explorers such as Kane and Peary. Shaffer was the first to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail when many believed that a thru-hike of the Trail was not possible. Although his prose is unassuming, Shaffer understood what he was doing--he knew he would be the first and he took steps to document his hike. He was a true explorer. He made history.

After reading many of the more contemporary accounts of thruhiking the AT, I finally got a hold of this great book. In my opinion, I recommend it the highest of any of them. Unlike most of the other books, he complains the least about the hike, despite countless detours and the usual hardships (yet he still averaged 17 miles a day!). A real strength to this book is that despite the fact he had suffered such psychological trauma during his service in WWII, he hardly mentions it all. There are no long-winded passages of psycho-babble, self-pity in this book. Many subsequent accounts tend to make their problems too much of the story, dragging the reader down. Instead, you get a real feeling of interest and wonder at the natural world Schaffer experienced--concisely, yet accurately conveyed in words. In addition, he keeps a steady pace of writing to match his hiking, so there are no slow spots. He simply goes about the business of hiking every day, and that strength is carried over into the book clearly. Other books, such as Bill Bryson's, give a lot of good background and historical information, but a more perceptive, deeply felt account than Walking with Spring would be very difficult indeed, to produce. The ATC's website has a good list of recommended memoirs which are good resources for more practical and current information, but in the end, this one stands out from and above them.

Earl Shaffer's recounting of the first AT thruhike is a glimpse into history. Perhaps a hundred books have been written about the Appalachian Trail since Earl wrote his. None is more sincere or matter of factly descriptive than Walking With Spring. Earl's life was enigmatic. This book contains hints and clues about this unusual man, the loner, the poet, the man rooted in nature. More than anything, it traces his pioneering journey into the history books as it leads the reader on what in 1948 was an unprecedented quest. At $8.95, it's probably one of today's best literary bargains.

Earl Shaffer was a laconic, introverted naturalist, and through his journey developed a deeper appreciation for the wilderness and deeper distrust for the modern world. This chronicle of the first thru-hike of the AT is highly factual, and quite literal. Shaffer did an excellent job of describing the varied terrain and geographic route of the trail. He was intensely serious, and at times the book seems a bit dry and too much of a literal account of the journey. Overall, however, the book is certainly one of a kind and a necessary read for anyone interested in the AT.

Earl Shaffer was the first person to hike the entire length of the Appalachian Trail (AT) in one continuous journey in 1948 after getting out of the military following WWII. As he wonderfully describes walking with the Appalachian spring across the mountains, there is much history, adventure and nature to be experienced. We can glimpse backward in time before this famous trail was well-known, when it was thought that no one could hike the entire length in one season. But we also find universal descriptions of what it is like to live outdoors and journey on the trail over the course of a "thru-hike," made today by hundreds each year. This was the first book about hiking the AT, and, after reading many AT books myself, I think it is the best.