Sean Gursky reviewed Awol on the Appalachian Trail by David Miller
Review of 'Awol on the Appalachian Trail' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
If I had to do it again I wouldn’t. As of today that’s how I feel about the AT hike.
I consider myself an avid hiker but live vicariously through stories of those who have hiked the PCT, Continental Divide or AT. I am far from an expert of any of those trails but after a few autobiographical stories they become the same.
There are peaks and valleys on the trail and personal journey that are highlighted and the story is over. Months of walking is summarized by a few short comings. This story is not like others.
This endeavour is much more endurable because we “own” it. We are here by choice, and we are going about it in the way of our own choosing.
This is an honest telling of the AT trail. The tedium, struggles and progression through the trail is all documented here. I felt like …
If I had to do it again I wouldn’t. As of today that’s how I feel about the AT hike.
I consider myself an avid hiker but live vicariously through stories of those who have hiked the PCT, Continental Divide or AT. I am far from an expert of any of those trails but after a few autobiographical stories they become the same.
There are peaks and valleys on the trail and personal journey that are highlighted and the story is over. Months of walking is summarized by a few short comings. This story is not like others.
This endeavour is much more endurable because we “own” it. We are here by choice, and we are going about it in the way of our own choosing.
This is an honest telling of the AT trail. The tedium, struggles and progression through the trail is all documented here. I felt like I could have pulled up a map and followed along from shelter to shelter, peak to peak and state to state. The aches, foot troubles and adventures in towns are all captured.
I have no insight into how I can return and avoid the doldrums that brought me here.
Some readers could consider the story slow or dry. I found that this story was simply a step by step recount on the Trail and it was wonderful. The story doesn’t pretend to be anything else and it offers insight in to the reasons for hiking and continuing the justification to keep going.
What I really appreciated reading about were the relationships on the trail. Some are transient, some you pick up with a state over. All of them were involved with their respective journeys for doing what they are.
The fewer responsibilities we have, the less free we are.
This is an excellent story of the AT and would recommend it to any other couch-hikers who think that this hike is equally interesting and overwhelming.
I found this story very quotable and had a few other quotes highlighted but not enough room for in this review so here they are:
He observes the Sherpa belief that “it is the task, not the employer, that is served” and that “the doing matters more than the attainment or reward”.
The amount of elevation gain and loss on the AT is equivalent to climbing up and down Mount Everest sixteen times.
This is it: 146 days of unforgettable scenery, seemingly endless miles of trail, rain, pain and friendships. It’s over.
