Best AT Book? - Appalachian Trail

imported
#1

Suggestions?
Looking for a book with meat, not fluff.

Scamp

Scamp

#2

I enjoyed both A Journey North (forget the author) and A Walk in the Woods (Bill Bryson). Both had good info about the trail, history, environment, etc. And Bryson is hilarious.

hephzibah

#3

Try going to trailplace.com (no www) and look for the link for the 2003 trail guide. That is of course you are looking for the book with the best info. It is writen by a guy named Dan “Wingfoot” Bruce. I’m sure you have heard of him. Its a very good book, especially if u are planning a thru-hike.

GR8FUL-HIKER

#4

I recommend reading Walking Home by Kelly Winters and the Earl Shaffer book. Also A Season on the Appalachian Trail by Lynn Setzer.

(A Journey North is by Adrienne Hall. Sorry, Hep, but I’m not a big fan of that one.)

Pushign Up Daisies

#5

I agree, that book was WONDERFUL! So was Bill Bryson’s book

hippie hiker chic

#6

Gotta love ol Bill. We got asked not less than 1 million times if we had read his book. It was a source of non stop humor just being asked every day.

Bushwhack

#7

I have read this book twice. It is a collection of interviews with Thru-Hikers during the 96 season, which is also the same year Bryson was on the Trail. Very insightful, funny, and inspiring. It’s really what got me serious about a Thru-Hike. I am reading “The AT: A Journey of Discovery” right now and find it to be very wordy and drawn out. The author spends too much time describing the tree and flowers and less time discussing the mental aspect of the trail. I have only just started the book however so it may get better.
I highly reccommend “A Season on the AT.” Not the best but informative, easy to read and fun.
~peace

svgklingon

#8

Check out “Sojourn in the Wilderness” by Ken Wadness. Great and meaningful reading and absolutely amazing photography. It was the first (only?) book writen as from a solo southbounder. Great book and you will LOVE the photography.

Israel

#9

I have a good collection of various AT books. My favorite is Larry Luxenberg’s “Walking the Appalachian Trail.”

The best source for data on the “typical” thru-hiker is Roland Meuser’s “Long Distance Hiking.” If there is ever a question about how far, how long, how many days off, what gear, etc. I refer to this book.

Another popular book is JR Tate’s “Walking on the Happy Side of Misery.”

Peaks

#10

I’ve only read 1 book about an AT thru-hike so far - but I thought it was great.

“On the Beaten Path” by R. Rubin

Jim

#11

Try reading the trail journals on trailjournals.com. These are daily events that have happened to real people. Yes there is some really funny stuff and some that are a little boring, but all have something to offer. I have picked up a significant number of hints and methods. Mountain Adventure by Ron Fisher is a small descriptive book, but has some sales pitches for the ATC, sort of woven in the text. The descriptions are vivid. You might try looking at Lynn Setzer’s videos. She did one on gear and interviewed a number of people and their methods of hiking the AT. The video, North to Katadyn, had some pretty pictures, but not a great deal of substance in my opinion. I am planning my AT hike in 2004 or 2005. I have read about 25 AT books and after a while they all begin to sound alike, with the exception of styles. I like the trail journals the best.

FatFree

#12

I just picked up “on the Beaten Path” by Robert Rubin, so far so good! Kelly Winters is by far my favorite! Bryson’s book is what put the thruhike idea back in my head! It’s also pretty hysterical! Also like “A Walk for Sunshine”, Lynn Setzer’s “Season on the AT” and Model T/James Tate’s “Walking on the Happy Side of Misery”, Beverly Hugo’s “Women on the AT” is a must for us women folk! For the real meat and potatos of the trail you’ll need the Thru-Hiker’s Companion and the AT Data Book. Anyone read the Appalchian Trail Reader?

Margie

#13

Don’t forget this one. By Jeff Alt, whom we met and talk to often. He talk about his adventures, hiker style, on the AT. Reads like a journal.

Bushwhack

#14

Kelly Winters book “Walking Home” is my favorite AT book. She is an excellent writer.

steve hiker

#15

Hey Scamp, you asked for “meat, not fluff.” You’ve just defined Roland Meuser’s “Long Distance Hiking.” It has more statistics than you thought anybody could possibly care about. But it’s not presented in a way that is boring. Meuser carefully broke down the whole experience of AT through-hiking into topics, and presents each topic in its own chapter. Makes it easy to find just the information you’re looking for, and there’s so much information that you’ll find yourself reading and re-reading the book for hours.

Also, I agree with FatFree about reading journals. They’re real-life advice, and you can read for yourself what works… and what doesn’t. Plus, it’s a thrill to follow some of your favorite hikers as they trek up (or down) the long green tunnel.

Teddy Roosevelt

#16

Thanks for all your responses.
I just finished Ray Jardine’s book, and while on eBay I saw
“Hiking the Appalachian Trail”, so I bought it.
It’s two large volumes, so it should have lots of info.
I’ll have to try some of the other books too.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

Scamp

Scamp

#17

One of my favorites is “As far as the eye can see” by David Brill. It was great. And also, “There are mountains to climb” by Jean Deeds. That was awesome also…Hootie

mary