A Walk in the Woods

I love reading about the outdoors, as well as self-sufficiency and ruggedness. So a book about walking the Appalachian Trail appealed to me greatly. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson is not just his experience walking parts of the trail but also delves into the history of the trail, the area cities he camped near, the forest conservation (or lack of) in the United States, and more. 

While Bryson did not walk the full 2,100 mile trail, he did get over 800 miles in throughout a years time and writes of his travel companion as well as fellow hikers with great humor. There were parts I laughed out loud at and other parts I cringed at, hoping that person was not reading this book!

I wish there had been a little more about the actual living outdoors. Except for bits and pieces of stocking up for food or cooking noodles or setting up camp I didn't get the full feel of life in the woods. Judging from the parts Bryson writes about I wonder if all they ate were Snickers Bars and noodles (and what type of noodles? Ramen? Butter Noodles?) the whole time, along with some other junk food. Can hikers really sustain themselves on that type of diet? How long does it take one to set up and take down camp? Cook breakfast? I could have used more of that information in the book to feel like I was really there, really roughing it.

It turned out to be an entertaining as well as educational book. I didn't know a lot about the Appalachian Trail before starting this book and kind of fell in love with it by the end. While I can't imagine hiking over 14 states, I do think it would be awesome to do a week long hike somewhere. This book made me put that on my bucket list.

This is also a movie starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte, I'm thinking I'll need to check it out!

This book was sent to me by Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.