Outdoor Reading, Part Two

Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods is a super delightful read.  He is one of the funniest writers I have read, who also manages to be very educational in his telling of a tale.  I've always known of the Appalachian Trail, of course, but it wasn't until last year that I happened across the National Geographic:  Appalachian Trail documentary on Netflix and became more intrigued.  There are people who can get lost in the woods for months at a time?  I needed to learn more about this.

While the National Geographic film was wonderful for sweeping views of the best parts of the trail, with a little splattering of personal experiences on the trail, Bryson's book is told from the perspective of a completely clueless hiker of the trail and his haphazard companion. His side commentary about just about every aspect of the trail and its quirks is laugh out loud funny.  For instance, as he researches black bears and what to expect of them as he treks up the East Coast, he tells of nighttime reading about black bear attacks, and it's recalled with as much removed fascination as it is immediate concern.  While a grown man is clearly writing of these preparations, it's sometimes a young boy, fascinated by the horrors of nature, that comes through.  And that crack in the narration ends up hilarious.

A Walk in the Woods brings a refreshing reminder of how fulfilling it can be to slow down life a little bit and take in the world around you by foot.  It illustrates that this point is agreed upon by all people of all shapes and sizes, professions and origins.  It also offers the nuggets of history that produced the Appalachian Trail and lots of other natural history that illustrates flattering and not so flattering aspects of government intervention in nature. However, all is told with a small spritz of sarcasm, which helps to make it digestible and entertaining.

If the winter gets you down, and you need to escape from a little bout of cabin fever, definitely keep A Walk in the Woods on your list of possible (and cheap!) excursions.