A Walk in the Woods

A Walk in the Woods

Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods was filled with some humorous moments. The author told his story about his attempt to walk the 2,200 miles Appalachian Trail. He was accompanied by an Iowan friend Stephen Katz, who wasn’t in greatest physical shape. Initially, Bryson discussed what it was like preparing for this trip by reading books, purchasing food, and all the necessary equipment.

Bryson and Katz set out on foot from Georgia. As they walked the trail they encountered cold weather, but kept on going. Their going was tough. Along the way they stopped at rest stops, inns, and pitched their tents. They soon reached the Smokies, but plodded along. Occasionally, they would meet someone on the trail, and camped with them. Later they hitched rides to reach Virginia, where the first leg of their journey ended. From here Katz departed for his apartment in Iowa, and Bryson decided to return home to New Hampshire.

As Bryson waited for Katz to rejoin him for the second leg of the trip, he decided to walk the trail and drive his car. He therefore went to West Virginia at Harper’s Ferry. From there he ventured to Pennsylvania where he described how coal mining had transformed a city’s landscape. Bryson with his car made it to New York and New Jersey. While on the trail he commented on New York having excellent Appalachian maps.

Later Bryson drove home to Concord, New Hampshire. After some time, he connected with Katz, who had returned for them to walk the remainder of the trail in Maine. After preparations they set out on the more difficult part of the Appalachian Trail. They were confronted with towering mountain ranges, crossed creeks, and continued to camp in the wild. For a while Katz was lost until Bryson found him. Their going was quite challenging, and so they soon decided to call it quits, so they hitched a ride, and left for home. Bryson later calculated that he had covered about 40 percent of the trail, and that he considered to be good enough.