A Walk In the Woods by Bill Bryson

Title: A Walk In the Woods

Author: Bill Bryson

Genre: Travel writing; non-fiction

Bill Bryson has just moved back to the United States after living in the United Kingdom for the past 18 years. In order to reacquaint himself with his homeland, he has decided to walk the Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Trail is a hiking trail that stretches 2,194 miles, from Georgia to Maine. Along for the ride, or walk in this case, is Bryson's friend Katz, who he has not seen in 20 years and is not a hiker. After purchasing the whole of an outdoor store to carry on his back, Bryson tells the story of their journey, while weaving the history of the trail and the lands that surround it.

I picked this up after visiting the Smoky Mountains and doing an incredibly brief two mile hike on the Appalachian Trail (it did not feel brief at the time). I cannot imagine the hundreds of miles and nights of camping that Bryson and Katz did on their journey. Bryson's writing has enough humor to keep you reading and wanting to know, do they make it? It almost leaves you thinking, if these two can hike that much, maybe I could too. Reader, I could not.

- Beth

Check out A Walk In the Woods by Bill Bryson @ the library!