A Door into Another Land: Appalachian Trail Memoirs

by Chris Homan

A door into another land describes the adventures of Chris “Windscreen” Homan and everything it means to hike the Appalachian Trail. Chris has just spent two years doing a dangerous and exhausting job in Iraq during the surge of US forces, and he wants to do something that he has never done before. Drawing inspiration from Bill Bryson’s A walk in the woods, he organizes his hikes around his university schedule, which splits the AT experience into two very different northbound from Roanoke, VA in 2011 and southbound from the same spot in 2012. This book follows Chris’s “Windscreen’s” perspective from the very first time it crossed his mind to hike the nearly 2,200-mile trail, and how it affects his family, friends, body, mind, and soul. The reader is invited along as he comes to terms with morality in the wake of a brother’s death, and reassesses what it means to truly live. From the war-torn dismay of Iraq to the unblemished splendor of the Appalachian Trail, to the impossible serenity of the Nepali Himalayas, to the Appalachian finish, Windscreen traipses through hard work, trail preparation, physical conditioning, life planning, academic indulgence, and intimate self-reflection towards an optimistic future.

152 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 14, 2014

Reviews

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspired by Bill Bryson's a Walk In The Woods, The author after having worked over in Iraq during the surge of US forces for a couple of years has decided to do something that he had never done and that was to hike the Appalachian Trail. He accomplished this in two stages due to time constraints, his first hiked was from Roanoke,Virginia in 2011 to Maine,then in 2012 from Roanoke, VA to Georgia which for most people is the start of the AT. He met a lot of hikers and formed great friends and his trail name “Windscreen”. After his Northern trek he returns home to work on getting his degree, for a life he hopes is full of travel..
In Between the two stretches of the AT, he goes for a short time to Nepal to hike with a few of his friends, and this just confirms his love for hiking.
He works out a lot of the issues he had been trying to figure out on the hikes, family issues, the death of a brother, what he really wants out of life.
He gives us wonderful descriptions of the trail, the people and the small towns where he takes his breaks. This was a very fun read.

[Mom2atornado · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fast, enjoyable read. Windscreen shares his Appalachian Trail adventures with us in journal form that is sometimes followed up with more detail on the journal entry. His ability to describe things allowed me to get close to the people that he met along the trail. Loved reading about the various small towns that he got a chance to visit. The writer is definitely an upbeat, extremely positive kind of person because he would share about the thrill and excitement of hitting various difficult points along the trail whereas in other AT books, many authors instead complained about how hard or difficult those sections were. He had such a positive demeanor in all of his explanation - this was a fun read and hope that he does tackle his desire to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

[Len Knighton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike the Appalachian Trail, I feel like I was constantly climbing as I read. This is a ponderous book, with little humor to lighten the load. I could easily have rated it 2 stars but gave one because its subject is a place I've always loved from afar.
Homan, for some reason, felt the need to add a little off-color language that was completely unnecessary.
While I admire Homan's tenacity, I can't credit him with conquering the Trail, doing it in 2 stages.
Bill Bryson's book, which inspired Homan's hikes, will have to stay on my wish list for awhile. After this reading, I'm not sure I can handle another AT book at the present time, even from Bryson.
Three stars waning.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to go on a walk...

The reflective parts of the book were the best. The actual day to day narrative was a bit too repetitive for my taste. Still fun to experience this magnificent trail vicariously through another.