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

by Adrienne Hall

"Hiking 2,159 miles from Georgia to Maine was not my idea...I was not a lost youth searching for an identity. I was not retired and looking for a new way to spend my time. I was not sorting through death or divorce. I was not recently fired from a job. The truth is, my boyfriend asked me on a date." So begins the story of one young woman's journey along the legendary Appalachian Trail. What starts as a date turns into the experience of a lifetime as Adrienne Hall faces blinding snowstorms, flooded rivers, and seemingly endless mountaintops. Yet despite the physical and mental hardships, she finds her commitment to her hiking companion and the AT experience growing with every mile. When she emerges from her trip - a million footsteps, countless candy bars, and one engagement proposal later - Adrienne has lived an adventure that few will ever know. Written with warmth, insight, and a keen sense of observation, A Journey North is a personal story about discovering what it means to hike the amazing corridor of wilderness that is the Appalachian Trail.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Nature, Adventure, Memoir, Outdoors, Womens

240 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2000

Reviews

[raccoon reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really disappointed by this book.

It's as if Hall is writing two books at once. One is a sorely lacking personal account of her time on the trail, and the other is her nerdy foray into factual legalese about the trail full of statistics and pages of things I skimmed over because it was putting me to sleep or was outdated or was just written poorly compared to the other style of writing. I didn't like the switching between these two voices and didn't care much for the latter at all. But the former had problems as well.

She complains. A lot. I get it. I've section hiked just under 200 miles in 4 separate trips and will be going back for my 5th. That shit is hard. I mean really hard. And my friends who have thru hiked it will back me up- they would say to you "That shit is hard!" BUT ... she seemed like she felt she "ought" to be getting more out of it, or doing better at it, and so she tried to sell it to us in the book that she knew she was or should, but all I took away for sure from her writing was a boatload of complaining and miserable (but she was happy about it because in the end she got engaged! yeah.. Join the club.). I'm pretty certain if you played a drinking game out of her complaining you'd die of liver disease by the end of the book. She complained about the weather- are you serious lady? You started in February??!!?! Are you mental? Of course you're going to have bad weather. She complained about the crowded shelters. She complained about the flies. About her knees. About the oatmeal. About comparing herself to the guys, and keeping up with them. About about about. She seemed to try very hard not to complain in such a way to make her sound bitchy. She doesn't sound bitchy. She sounds like a nice, smart, young, I'm doing this for my boyfriend type girl (it wasn't her idea to do the hike and she's honest about this throughout the book and worries obsessively about if he's going to judge her or leave her for her poor performance on the trail.)

She seems to miss what is abundant to most on the trail and she doesn't really write about it at all- camaraderie. Oh my god... the joys of the people I met on the trail. Did she just not make any friends? Or were they not important enough to her to write about in detail? Everyone she mentions is barely there... like ghosts. I get that everybody hikes their own hike. But I was disappointed not to have more stories about the crazy people and situations you meet/get into with them on the trail. Trips to trail towns are amazing. Bonds are formed for life. She just seemed either incapable of writing about these depths of companionship in a real way or she didn't have these experiences.

But there were bright spots in Hall's writing. I think she's a smart girl and her writing reflects this. But not everyone who hikes the AT should write a book. As a librarian and fellow hiker I I would not recommend this book to many people. I'd actually steer them away from it unless they were just desperate to read anything about the AT (as many who catch the white blaze fever are).

I also took serious complaint with her anti-cell phone stance. She says no one should make phone calls from peaks or shelters. I hate to break it to you lady but THATS WHERE THE SIGNALS ARE. I hated doing it when I knew a bitchy person was around. But I wanted to talk to my husband and let him know I was okay (I section hike ALONE and while I'm not worried about my safety, and neither is he, it's smart to keep a regular check in time every day or two). Plus, I like hearing his voice before I go to bed. I often tried to hide on a trail when I got to a peak but more often than not a hiker would traipse by as I made an apologetic frown at them for my being on a cell phone. I was *thrilled* when I met other cell phone bearers. I loved them.

Second, on page 145 she complains about how the guys get to change clothes in the warmth of their sleeping bags while she has to trudge out to the outhouse to change. What? What the HELL? Is she really that prudish or really that shy and virginal? I changed in my sleeping bag successfully by the third night. To Hell with walking to the privy. Unless you are without arms you too can change in the comfort of your sleeping bag and no one will see your tatas. You just get in and wiggle about till your changed. Then by the 5th night I got to the shelter with 3 other guys. They changed while I turned my back (we were all sopping wet and couldn't change in our bags) then I got them to (gasp) turn their backs while I changed. What are you like 12 years old? Just ask them to turn around. All the guys were cool. My last night on the trail I got to an empty shelter and shimmied out of every piece of clothing I had on. Naked down to my socks and quickly changed into fresh clean sleeping clothes. I did this as fast as I could, shaking in the cold, with no look out. I just prayed no one would whip around the trail and see me there dancing around all nakie in the middle of the shelter. No one came around and I was clothed when the next person arrived a few minutes later. I can't believe the trail didn't affect this lady more than it did. I never would have done that on my first night but by the end I had really changed and relaxed. I didn't get the feeling Ms. Hall changed all that much except for some paranoia about cars when she got back, and her engagement.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of this book is a bit misleading. True, it is the story of the author's northbound thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail; however, she did not make the trip solo. Adrienne Hall traveled with her boyfriend, Craig, and she readily admits that she would not have reached Maine without him. Once I got over my annoyance (fueled largely by my being unceremoniously dumped, shortly before delving into this book, by a wanderer who eschewed attachments to people) at having to put up with a love story inside this hiking memoir, I came to like Hall's confessional, candid, sometimes self-deprecating tale of her journey.

Hall is a biologist and environmentalist who catalogs in detail the many natural wonders and warning signs - of global warming, pollution, and land overuse - she sees along the trail. She also provides helpful information about how she prepared for the trip - breaking in several pairs of boots, budgeting (estimated cost of thru-hiking: $1 per mile), working up to carrying a heavy load by taking practice romps through her neighborhood park with bags of flour in her pack, mailing supplies for General Delivery at trail town post offices (where they will be held for up to 30 days), etc. - and gives her family credit for being a vital support system that provided the travelers with storage space and a home base and kept those General Delivery care packages arriving on schedule. Rather than dissuading would-be hikers, Hall's book serves as an inspiration and example. After reading this book, I would still like to give long-distance hiking a try.

[Yo Yo · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an avid backpacker and outdoor enthusiast, I found this book refreshing. It is not a boastful account of the author's incredible accomplishment but rather a deeper look at the issues that surround the AT. Hall does a great job weaving her journey with research on topics of importance that affect the area and the trail. Word on the street, though ... the marriage did not last. Luckily, her book did.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another story about hiking the Appalachian Trail. This was a woman's account and she actually walked the entire trail from Georgia to Maine. I thought at first it would be about a woman who did it solo, but it turns out it was her boyfriend's idea, a lifelong dream, and he just asked her along. It became a joke that it was a six month "date." Their dog, Kodiak, came with them through a small portion of the trail, but was sent back home after hunters shot him with a BB gun. Craig asks Adrienne to marry him on Saddleback Mountain in Maine before they reach the end of the trail. She, of course, says "yes" and it s a very romantic and memorable way to become engaged. Like "A Walk in the Woods," it seems like 95 percent of the trip was very uncomfortable and disagreeable - flies, mosquitos, lots of rain and snow, but everyone agrees that it was worth it and that they went away with something. She also put in a lot of information about the environment and the trail, some of which I skipped over because it was too much statistics. These two stories combined make me want to do the trail, but realize I probably couldn't do it, at least not alone.

[Steve Comstock · Rating 2 out of 5]

I labored through this. Hall is clearly knowledgeable and full of relevant and interesting information but the execution of that communication is a train wreck. Chunky awkward prose, consistent disunion, and a terrible job of fitting her personal experiences in.

[Brad Erickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

About two pages of interesting stories about her hike and 198 pages of environmental homilies and essays. A bit of a slog getting through this (punning on the Ap Trail a bit) and a lot of page skipping. Kind of like her hike.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I read it several years ago before my own thru-hike of the AT and took a lot from it then. Now having reread it I found it even more impressive. I love how the author mixes her knowledge and research with her personal experiences on the trail. She provides another prospective on how the AT is effecting the surrounding wilderness and what the people who protect do to keep it wild. Although now dated, I think it’s a great read and eye opener for any potential thru-hikers and those who are simply interested in saving our wilderness areas.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are only going to read one or two accounts of an AT hike, don't bother with this one. Hall combines a straightforward account of her hike of the AT with side bits on the history of the trail, information about the flora and fauna along the trail, damage being done to the environment, etc. Her description of the hike itself is not all that gripping and the while the factual information is important, she doesn't impart it in a very entertaining way.

[camilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but it took me awhile to get through. I enjoyed learning about the history of the trail and the parks along it and the fight to protect them. However, I was always eager to get back to the actually hiking bits. The trail sounds more horrible here than in a lot of other AT memoirs I've read. I guess I'm happy the author was so honest but, yeesh.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've started many books about the AT. I've decided at this point that whatever qualities make a good thru hiker clearly do not make good writers. Couldn't finish this one. Terrible. Poor writing. Inaccurate at times.

[PeaceRose · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author’s hike along the entire Appalachian Trail was as harrowing an experience as one would imagine it to be. She and her partner started in February, and it kept snowing heavily into May on the mountain ridges along which most of the trail lies. When it wasn’t snowing, it was often raining nonstop for days at a time. And on rare occasions when no abundant precipitation was descending upon them, they had to cross fields of sharp rocks, swamps or swollen rivers (where one hiker drowned that year), follow deeply flooded trails, or keep running to avoid being eaten alive by swarms of mosquitoes. The shelters they stayed at were usually infested with armies of mice, their sleeping bags and shoes were often wet, and their clothes tended to be wet and filthy into the bargain. Moreover, walking continuously up and down mountains takes a toll on one’s body, even if one is very fit and used to recreational hiking, as the author and her partner were. Hall writes that even early during the trip she had difficulty sleeping because she couldn’t find a position in which her hip joints didn’t hurt. By the end of it she had to take a handful of Advil every day. As she remarked to her partner, with characteristic humor, "Except that I can barely stand, I’m in the best shape of my life." Why on earth would anyone *dream* of experiencing any of this is beyond my comprehension, but, according to Hall, two thousand people try to hike the entire AT every year, with two hundred of them succeeding, and that’s not counting those who don’t attempt to walk the whole trail, of whom there are many more.

Still, surprisingly, I didn’t find Hall’s descriptions of her hike upsetting. Nor was she complaining about the hardships, as some Amazon reviewers wrote. In fact, I thought she was remarkably upbeat about them, writing that if "fellowship with wilderness" had to include mice, so be it. She was merely honest in describing what it is really like to hike the AT. Probably that’s what I really liked about this book. She wasn’t trying to sugarcoat her experience, or to please the reader with a reassuring picture of vast, healthy forests, diverse and abundant wildlife and pleasant tiredness one feels at the end of a day well spent. Perhaps, it’s also the fact that I’ve always assumed that people who climb a mountain on their own two feet are usually in no condition to enjoy the view. So I was actually pleasantly surprised by the number of occasions when they did enjoy the view or being on the trail in general. I also knew that the only substantial wild places left in the US are places that couldn’t be used for farming or pastures: tundra, desert, swamps and mountain ridges. Therefore, it didn’t surprise me that the hiking was arduous in the extreme, or that when there was no unwanted inhospitable area through which the trail could be laid, hikers had to walk across cow pastures or corn fields or within continuous sight of car roads. Interestingly, the author mentions the attempt to reintroduce red wolves into the Smoky Mountains National Park, which failed, because there was not enough prey in the mountains to allow the wolves to raise their families. Consequently the pup survival rate was zero, and wolves kept migrating from the park down into the agricultural valleys below. As I read Hall’s account of her trip, I couldn’t help comparing hikers – or anyone who wants to enjoy land in its natural state – to wolves and most other wild animals. Both have been forced into such places that the practical implementation of the scheme defeats the purpose: animals can’t survive, and hikers can’t enjoy the experience they have craved.

And this leads me to another point Hall is being very honest about in this book. Besides describing her trip as it was and admitting that mostly she didn’t enjoy it, she addresses the precarious situation of plants and animals in the places she passed through, and the various reasons behind it. By the time she sat down to write this book, she had earned a graduate degree in environmental science, and I particularly appreciated her discussion of the air quality problems in the eastern US, since I live here myself. I only wished that the book had been written later and offered more current information, although I highly suspect that the main issues remain unchanged. I must admit, though, that there were times when I had to set this book aside and give myself a break from it, just as Hall did from the trail, in my case because of my frustration with the people in power and their obtuse determination to pursue profits down the cliff. However, I do prefer – and even expect – to find researched background information in travel books of any type; otherwise it frankly quickly becomes boring for me to read an unending recitation of daily activities with nothing to flesh them out.

I think this book does have some flaws. For instance, I find the presentation of Native Americans’ stories and beliefs by way of explanation of the difference between their treatment of nature and that of European settlers to be illogical, for in reality, in any culture, stories and beliefs come from lifestyle rather than the other way around. Native Americans generally didn’t raise animals for food and depended on the wilderness to provide them with most of their meat; European settlers did not. Hall herself mentions the change in the treatment of nature in the Old World in prehistoric times, but credits it to invasions by "patriarchal" peoples rather than a change in lifestyle; however, any such invasions would be of a fairly regional character, while the author admits that the Earth/Mother goddess religion, subsequently abandoned everywhere, used to be *very* widespread. I also didn’t appreciate Hall’s personal musings about her trip; I must say that I’m yet to read the what-I’ve-learned-from-this-experience kind of reflections in any memoirs that I’d find at all original. However, on the whole I found this a very interesting and worthwhile book.

And then when I got to the end of it, I was rewarded with reading about Percival Baxter. Baxter lived in the first half of the twentieth century. Although born into a rich family, he wanted to protect a vast tract of unspoiled Maine wilderness for people of moderate means to enjoy (and leave it as they found it – no hunting, trapping, hotels, or vehicles of any type were to be permitted there). When he found that he couldn’t do anything useful as a state legislator and later governor, he quit politics (how many politicians have you heard about who’d done that?), and worked with the land owners to gradually buy the tracts he wanted with his own money. Later he donated these lands to the state of Maine (with conditions for their preservation). Hall also mentions in passing Baxter’s other deeds, such as giving the state an island "to be used as a home for sick and underprivileged children" or providing "$625,000 to reconstruct the school for the deaf", among others, but his main endeavor was creating a state park around Katahdin that now bears his name. According to Hall, Baxter’s last words (at the age of 92) were: "Pray for me. It is not that I’m afraid of dying, it is just that I have so much left to do." It’s certainly inspiring to read about somebody who could lead a peaceful existence, living like a king and having everybody’s goodwill, as is usually the case with rich people who don’t get into anybody’s way – but who chose to spend it in continuous difficult negotiations with property owners and politicians. I think that, in a sense, it’s similar to what Adrienne Hall has done with her hike and the resulting book. She persevered through an ordeal most people wouldn’t even start and then wrote a truthful and informative book about it, instead of a presenting a rosy view of bountiful and sublime nature and tough hikers, which would have definitely sold far more copies and quite likely led to lucrative publishing contracts in the future. For this, I’m perfectly willing to forgive her some banal personal thoughts and some gaffes with ancient history.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited to go into an old bookstore and come across 4 books about the Appalachian Trail that I have not heard of and having read almost everything about it I was very excited. sadly this might be my least favorite of everything I've read on the Appalachian Trail it was hard to feel a connection with the author who didn't make you feel like you wanted to get to know her and just told a ton of facts that she had looked up about the Appalachian Trail and all the information seem like it came directly from other books rather than the author's experience. even when there are characters that you don't like you somehow feel a connection with them and this author really missed out on building any kind of character and instead giving information or facts about the Appalachian Trail rather than the experience. I was very let down.

[Margaret Mitchell · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author approached this book as more of an environmentalist/tree hugger. There's nothing wrong with that, but not what I was looking for and I feel she lost her story in trying to tell the story of the trail. It didn't seem like she enjoyed the hike and I really had to question why she continued on if she was so opposed to her perceived environmental damage that the hikers cause to the trail.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good history of the AT along with the struggles to walk it. Adrienne's experience is peppered with the history and struggles of maintaining the AT along with the encroaching of overpopulation and technology's effects. Cell towers abound especially in the mid atlantic region. It made me very sad at points where the wilderness experience was thwarted by humans.

[Jeanine Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up at a used bookstore. It's a bit dated and the author frequently asks, will x happen in 20 years. Since it's 20 years later, I'm curious to know what the state of the AT is now.

Overall, interesting quick read, although written from the perspective of a biologist, I found myself skipping the scientific parts as it got a little preachy about environmentalism.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I worked in New Hampshire for 4 months in 2005 at guest services, so I saw this book for sale, read it during downtime, loved it, and bought it, then lost it. This woman and her boyfriend hiked the AT and fell in love along the way. I don't know if I would love it today though.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun story of a woman’s hike on the AT along with natural history lessons.

[Olivia Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do wish that she got a bit more personal about the journey but I do enjoy the perspective given on the AT.

Learning about the history throughout was an added bonus and I really enjoyed the pieces of knowledge I gained from this book!

[Emilee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the book for a few reasons that were more linked to my past than about a lot of the relevant and informational parts of the book. I also took into an account the hard work she took to research everything, and also that it was in fact a more opinion-based book on her experience hiking the trail. I don't think anyone should discount anyone based off of their own experience. I can't picture yet what my reaction to the AT would be, or how I would handle it, so reading this account put it into a lot of more visual perspective for me.

As a Christian, I was aware that her writing had a lot of cynicism towards Christianity in terms of the natural perspective. The second to last chapter talks about spiritual things and there was a negative tone towards Christianity. Not that it is right, but I understood where she was coming from, even though her information about Christianity that does not pertain to the church itself was missing. As Christians we are aware that Christ is not the church, thankfully because the church can be a poor representative of what Christ did and stood for. And in a lot of ways, she was right about how Christians deal with nature. I would be hard-pressed to find more than two handful of Christians who really appreciate nature as a an expression of God's beauty and wish to take much better care of it. And she points out that in Christianity there is this idea of the land being for our control and under submission to us. The Bible points this out too, but I don't believe that God wished for us to take such poor care of His gift. I think she was spot on with that.

Anyways, I thought this was a good book otherwise. It is my first trail book, so I can't say if it was a favorite yet or not, but I would have to say I rather liked it. There was so much research in it, hard to follow at times, but I found that to be necessary. There is so much about the trail that I learned and would have probably never learned about otherwise. And it was stuff that was needed to be read. It commands a focus towards actions to help prevent the AT from being destroyed and from destroying itself, which I was surprised to read about. This is definitely a book to read on perspective rather than complete facts though, as well. Some of it was biased in terms of the political and scientific sense, and her views of feminism was interesting yet as a women's ministry major this was frustrating. But that is for another time. :0) All in all, it was a good book, and taken with a grain of salt and read for the perspective it is a great read about the AT and about the beauty of one of the last major natural beauties of America.

[Stacy K B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking for a book about facts on hiking the trail, then maybe this isn't quite the book for you. However, if you do enjoy reading accounts of experiences during the hike, then this might be a read for you. The story is an account of the author, Adrienne's experience in hiking the trail, as a last minute decision to join her boyfriend.

The story spreads off onto Adrienne's views on some of the ecology of the App. Trail. There are stories of environmental issues woven in to her accounts of her hike with her boyfriend and his dog. The book is her account and is entertaining and at times emotional.

This is certainly not a "best of hikes" recommendation book, or a "how-to" guide, but a wonderfully written account of one's personal reflections of the trail. 3.5 out of 5 stars

update 6/18/07: I have picked this up for the rereading adventure. In my humble opinion, this is one of the best [female:] accounts of a hike on the Appalachian Trail.

Adrienne Hall was not a novice backpacker, when starting this Trail. Her first hike was around age 11, but she was not all that thrilled taking the 2100 plus mile hike. She decided to go when her then boyfriend asked her on a "date". Adrienne writes about their hike together and how this turned into a journey of a Woman on the trail.

There are stories about heavy rains, mosquito bites, rivers running over and unexpected snow; most stories center around environmental issues. But throughout the pages, the underlying story of Adrienne's commitment to her hike and her partner show growth with every step.

This book is well written and enjoyable. Ms. Hall's attention to detail derives from the amount of time she spent observing the wild surrounding her during her trip.

4.5 stars

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was O.K. I'm not sure exactly how she does it, but Hall manages to make a fascinating subject pretty mundane. Rather than a story about hiking the AT, the book alternates between a brief stories from the trail and an essay on the history of the AT and the impact that suburban/urban development has had on the land. It's a little choppy in that instead of weaving in her research and environmental views to her story, she jumps between the two at will. In fact, there is often nothing in her narrative that relates to the adjacent diatribe except a shared geography. Although the subtitle is "one woman's story of hiking the appalachian trail," Hall's fervent environmentalism often seems like the main subject, with tales of the hike itself used as a thinly veiled platform for her preaching. Despite these faults, I think my biggest beef is that the people in the story are flat and uninteresting. Even Craig, the author's fiance, has very little personality besides being a mountain-man type who hates mosquitos. And although Hall mentions the camaraderie with other through hikers and the annoyance of dealing with the weekend warriors and boy scout troops, she totally neglects to flesh out any of the characters she meets on the trail. By side-stepping this amazing opportunity for humor, inspiration, and depth, her book reads as a rather vanilla personal narrative. Now, if we could only get David Sedaris to hike the AT and write about it, *there* would be a book worth reading!

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't do it. This book is awful. I normally love a good story, especially ones with history and background woven into it. But, this one. I just can't. She lectures about the environment and complains about the balds. No one knows why they are bald now, and why they are starting reforest and if we should maintain them or let them grown back. One minute it's the hike, the next its a lecture on plant species. Then, more hike followed by how the Native Americas did it better. She has strong opinions, and that is fine. But, I feel like there were multiple different books being written at the same time. It wasn't cohesive. It jumped too much from the hike to the lecture. I never knew where she was headed. She hates cell phones, for any purpose. She called day hikers and section hikers "weekend warriors" and anyone who didn't fit her "ideals" of a hiker seemed to be looked down upon. She gets into almost an entire chapter on religion. There are plenty of better books out there. Avoid this one.

[Dee Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with a prior reviewer named Gina. It was as if there were two books here, side by side. The author would begin a chapter with her own story of hiking, and then segue into something on ecology or the reintroduction of wolves or Appalachian Trail history. This isn't unusual in non-fiction books, but these side issues lasted for 8-10 pages. It was disconcerting to be switched back and forth between a memoir and an essay of various subjects; it did not work smoothly.

In the end, because of the writing style, there was a certain distance achieved between the author and the reader that never was breached, at least for me. There were trail details and information about equipment and weather and trying to hike with a dog, so for someone who is avidly looking for books about hiking the AT, this is another one to read. Just know that you will have to dig to find those sorts of experiences.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I admire her stamina (I don't think she was complaining much more than others who thru-hike the AT; she was just giving her honest impressions) but I wanted MORE!! I sort of felt guilty and just a bit uneducated/unappreciative when skipped over her frequent interruptions of her and her boyfriend's hike with scientific and ecological background info, but I didn't read choose this book for that sort of detail. One reader commented that it was almost like she was writing a term-paper rather than a personal memoir, and I'd agree. I might (probably) not ever walk this trail from end to end myself, but I wanted more time in her shoes (so to speak!) and less time with facts and figures. I guess her background (bio grad student) lent itself to this perspective, which was very informative, but too much for (armchair) adventurers like me!!

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Author Adrienne Hall recounts her experience of hiking the Appalachian Trail. I’m usually a sucker for trail narratives: Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, walking across the US - all of them. Especially women’s accounts, which are fewer and further between. I enjoyed the parts of the book where Hall wrote about her time on the trail, but her sections on environmental issues and trail maintenance fell flat for me. She relied on statistics and quotes rather than compelling storytelling. I could have also skipped the lengthy sections about her relationship with her boyfriend (her hiking partner), although I can imagine hiking the AT as a couple would put a strain on many relationships. All in all not for me, but a very fact-filled account for those who want to read comprehensively on the subject of the AT.

[Josh Liller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being a AT thru-hiker (someone who hikes the Appalachian Trail from start to finish) should be interested by itself. And when you're one of the few women to do it and you're thru-hiking with your boyfriend and the two of you get engaged at the end of the 6 month hike (not a spoiler - it's spoiled in the blurb) surely it's going to be interesting stuff?

Not so much. The book is short (under 200 pages) and more time is spent talking about the environment and issues relating to the trail than the actual experience of the trail. Which ultimately amounts to a rehash of Bill Bryson's "A Walk In The Woods" but with more success and a hippie-esk slant to the non-hiking parts, which all makes it less interesting to me.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Audrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not strictly true that I "read" this whole book as I found myself regularly skipping two or three pages at a time as the author would launch off into periodic (and by that I mean every chapter was interrupted with at least one) scolds about some ecological crime we humans are engaged in. I kept finding myself wishing she would get back to the story line of her hiking the Appalachian Trail and less about some issue that she painted with a very one-sided brush. I think anyone reading this book has a love for nature and who doesn't have an awareness of our impact on creation by our very walking through it? Ms. Hall loses her authority to speak to the issues by employing "preachiness" at every turn. -I also didn't feel like she really enjoyed her hike in the end. Just endured it.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

since i really want to thru hike the AT, I read this book because I like hearing women's experiences/feelings about hiking the trail...but I will have to admit I did not read this book start to finish..she had this book in a format which included history of the AT, and I found this to be distracting. i know it is subject matter that pertains to the trail, but it seemed to me just like "filler" material..like she didn't have enough story to make a book. Now my greatest source of women's experiences on the AT is www.trailjournals.com

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not what I was looking for. I was hoping to read about the author hiking the AT and all that goes with such an adventure. The majority of the book was full of well researched history of the AT, maintenance of the AT and environmental issues. I think the book would have been a smoother read if it was perhaps divided up into two sections. I found myself skimming or skipping a lot of the less narrative sections. I imagine at some point this week I'll go back and read the stuff I skipped - I was just looking for a different read at the time.