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  1. #21
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    Oh yes I remember it was "Useless American in Brit"


    Also "nevermind" was a cool uphanism
    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  2. #22
    Getting out as much as I can..which is never enough. :) Mags's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pony View Post
    The day I went over Clingman's Dome, it was so fogged in that you could only see about 20 feet in front of you. I never realized the road was there either til just now.
    Likewise.

    I find it funny that this book came out in 1998....and fourteen years later it's still THAT BOOK. And still gets people all bent out of shape.

    It's an amusing book to read in airport. Bryson moved on. Let's do the same.
    Paul "Mags" Magnanti
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    The true harvest of my life is intangible...a little stardust caught,a portion of the rainbow I have clutched -Thoreau

  3. #23
    But I believe, yes I believe, I said I believe
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    I do enjoy how this topic reemerges every year.

    --Kirby

  4. #24
    AT NOBO2010 / SOBO2011 Maddog's Avatar
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    According to Baltimore Jack's favorite t-shirt, it should probably be candy a$$!
    "You do more hiking with your head than your feet!" Emma "Grandma" Gatewood...HYOY!!!
    http://www.hammockforums.net/?

  5. #25
    Registered User jesse's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pony View Post
    ... it's a good read. He's an author not a hiker...
    Better than all the Trail Journals combined.

  6. #26
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    Bryson's trail name: Snobbish.
    Daddy made whiskey and he made it well.
    Cost two dollars and it burned like hell.
    I cut hick'ry just to fire the still,
    Drink down a bottle and be ready to kill.

  7. #27
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    Bryson did at least START the trail with a hiking companion. Wes Wisson, a stuttler who lives in Suches Ga. (and I believe mentioned by name in the book), recounted the story to me while shuttling me on my last hike.

  8. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by daddytwosticks View Post
    Bryson did at least START the trail with a hiking companion. Wes Wisson, a stuttler who lives in Suches Ga. (and I believe mentioned by name in the book), recounted the story to me while shuttling me on my last hike.
    Same here - Wes shuttled me in '04 and confirmed Katz's existence.

  9. #29
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    Bill Bryson rules. What's wrong with some of you people? In 100 years, people will still be reading that book. The book is not meant for hikers. Why would Bryson write a book for hikers about his experience when a hiker has already experienced what he wrote about? He wrote that book for people that will never hike the AT in a million years.

    If you think he's being a snob or mean because he makes fun of people on the AT, then read his other books. You'll soon see that he makes fun of EVERYONE, including himself.

  10. #30
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    The trail gained great popularity as a result of the book.

    Sure wish another book would appear that gets more folks interested in backpacking.
    Order your copy of the Appalachian Trail Passport at www.ATPassport.com

    Green Mountain House Hostel
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  11. #31
    Registered User Hawkwind61's Avatar
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    I read his book while on a flight out to Idaho from New England a few years back. I laughed and snickered the whole time. Being a long time hiker/backpacker I found myself muttering, "That's not how you do it!" quite frequently. I will say that my sides hurt from giggling and trying not to laugh out loud thereby waking my seat partners. It made a normally long and boring flight comical (for me).

    The book was an amusing time passer.

  12. #32

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    Katz did say he had a trailname but you can't mention it in mixed company.

    In Year 2000 I hiked in Georgia with a hiker named Bill Bryson -- not the author but someone else with the same given name. Nice guy.


    Datto

  13. #33
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    I read the book and laughed quite a bit. Analyzing it seems like a waste of energy. It's not a guide book.

  14. #34

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    yeah, you guys are pretty hilarious. I only asked his trail name for my most recent post.

    is the real trail like this, probably, right?!

  15. #35

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    Seems like the man made an honest effort at seeing and writing about what makes us tick. What drives us. Obviously it "wasn't what he expected" but he did try. That deserves some credit.
    "Hiking is as close to God as you can get without going to Church." - BobbyJo Sargent aka milkman Sometimes it's nice to take a long walk in THE FOG.

  16. #36
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    Default Beyond My Limits

    if you like Bill Bryson's book, you should read Beyond My Limits by Charles Anderson.
    I read them both and think if you like A walk in the woods you will like this one.

    Shack

  17. #37
    Registered User Driver8's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cookerhiker View Post
    But I've noticed some Bryson haters IMO go beyond reasonable criticism. Anyone who thinks the book was "complete fiction" either hasn't read it or hasn't backpacked much of the AT.
    ^ +1

    It's highly unlikely Bryson could have written A Walk In the Woods, with its superb, subtle feel for the experience of hiking long stretches of the A.T., without having had the experience. It's a fun read and a nice introduction for civilians to long distance hiking. I enjoyed it immensely, though of course I recognize that Bill's views and experiences will vary greatly with my own. Vive la difference. ...
    The more miles, the merrier!

    NH4K: 21/48; N.E.4K: 25/67; NEHH: 28/100; Northeast 4K: 27/115; AT: 124/2191

  18. #38
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    I would say that I am no fan of Bill Bryson. Bryson and his style annoys me and I found Katz to be the more interesting of the two... however the book was funny and much more entertaining than many of the thru hiker books that I have read... AWOL's, Skywalker's, and 300 Zeros just seemed to all bleed together in into the same book.
    igne et ferrum est potentas
    "In the beginning, all America was Virginia." -​William Byrd

  19. #39

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    I am fond of the book because it sparked my interest in the AT. I was, however, disappointed to discover that it was kind of bogus but nonetheless, I enjoyed it and now I'm looking forward to the journey.

  20. #40

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    he was on the trail, I met him when I was RidgeRunner in the Berkshires....and yes the actual Trail can be this cliquey. Have good hikes everyone, be safe

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