On the Beaten Path: An Appalachian Pilgrimage [Paperback]

Robert Alden Rubin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Official Guides to the Appalachian Trail | Publication Date: September 1, 2001

An eloquent, wise, and witty account of how one man's six-month, end-to-end hike of the Appalachian Trail led him back home.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Why have we quit our jobs, left our wives, our husbands, our children, left school, interrupted perfectly good retirements, put off promising careers? Why come to the woods for half a year of rodents and rain?

On April Fool's Day 1997, 38-year-old Robert Alden Rubin leaves his puzzled wife and a burnt-out career to became a pilgrim named Rhymin' Worm on the Appalachian Trail, joining a couple thousand other "thruhikers" on the way. Through 2,160 miles of shin splints, feet turned to hamburger, muscle revolt, intestinal distress, hantavirus, freezing and broiling weather, malnutrition, missing spouses and children, bear and bull-moose encounters, and serious injuries, he and his fellow travelers--a motley subculture if ever there was one--endure, even thrive.

To the very end, Rubin is not sure why he's made this journey. But the combination of getting away from the "normal" world of work, commuting, suburbs, and capitalist culture and joining a group of outsiders in pursuit of a single goal seems to fill the space in his soul that the normal world carved out over the years. He emerges at the end of the trail, in Vermont, with an inkling of why he's on the path:

We've walked this crooked trail to mend the crazing of our lives; we reek of sweat and smoke, wear Gore-Tex shells to turn the storm away, take on new names, our talk all aches, and boots, and food; and yet we yearn to strip the armor from our hearts, to wash ourselves in mountain rain and air until, like the wild columbine and black cohosh, we can be merely what we are, until out of the stone-strewn ground we bloom again, until the weathered sign on Baxter Peak points along the path to where we've been.

On the Beaten Path is by turns somber, silly, philosophical, historical, even mundane, but mostly, it's touching. Alden's courage to rescue his life from what could have been a featureless future is inspiring, and his honesty about his shortcomings makes his inner world accessible to readers who may not share his demons. --Stefanie Durbin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In the thick of a midlife crisis, 38-year-old book editor Rubin decided to quit his job and hike the entire Appalachian Trail, from Georgia to Maine. Rubin is the first to point out the selfishness of his whim, which very likely cost him his career and his marriage. Not to mention that Alden was at least 75 pounds overweight at the beginning of his 2,000-plus-mile hike, "an athlete gone to seed." Nonetheless, the author set out, stubbornly walking off years of stress and confusion. Over the past 30 years, hiking the Appalachian trail has become something of a counterculture ritual, and Rubin both mocks and reveres his cohorts. He has plenty of vitriol for weekend RV adventurers who "would never get any closer to the wilderness than the blacktop out of town," for college kids who blow their trail money on beer and pot and for hikers whose "fastidiousness, organization, unceasing questions, discussion and analysis began driving [him] quietly nuts." The author is no less critical of himself, documenting his own unglamorous moments, which include foul moods, falls along the trail and a bathroom "accident" along the trail. Yet Rubin also cherishes the trail, and his honest, fast-paced account should inspire others to try hiking "the beaten path." (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585743976
• ISBN-13: 978-1585743971
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,967,655 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Engrossing Virtual Hike..., June 23, 2000

By 

Quaker Annie "reader" - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Beaten Path: An Appalachian Pilgrimage (Hardcover)

My first copy was free, but I'm going to buy more as gifts because I want this author to write more!

When I got my copy of this book at a recent booksellers convention, Robert Rubin asked me as he signed it, "So, is this a dream of yours, to hike the Appalachian Trail?" No doubt an amusing question to ask of a slightly plump, middle-aged woman exhausted after 4 hours of walking the floors, but in actuality, I had to tell him -- "Yes!"

Years ago I had a dream, to take 6 months off from work and life, and walk the Appalachian Trail, alone. There has to be more to life than working 9-to-5, I'd thought -- a sentiment Rubin shared when he made his decision to abandon job and wife for half a year. In my case, time slipped away. I grew older, with more responsibilities and limitations, and recently realized that for me, this long and lone journey isn't likely to happen. This book simultaneously put that dream to rest, while making it come as true as it can be for me.

In the beginning of the book, Rubin shares a quote you'd find at the start of the journey -- "Appalachian Trail - Georgia to Maine - A Footpath for those who seek Fellowship with the Wilderness." In this shared journal of his 6 month venture, Rubin finds just that, and more. From the start. he knows he's going on some sort of pilgrimage -- a search for meaning in his life. Though he never spells out what he found, by the end of his journey, it is clear that he has gotten where he needed to go.

Rubin is a true storyteller, weaving together day-to-day happenings with past events that put him on this path, pulling the reader in so close we are there with him as his body is put through the rigors of 2,160 miles of walking, climbing, falling (don't let hikers tell you they never fall on the Appalachian trail!), being sick and eating portable meals that eventually taste like paste. His humor shows through - I laughed outloud in several places (that's just not like me - I'm more of a silent smirker). He develops friendships with other thruhikers -- those who are hiking the trail from start to finish -- Kilgore Trout, RockDancer and many more - while struggling to assure his wife of ten years that though he's left her behind (alone at home with the dog), he will be coming back.

Hiking this trail is one of the last adventures in the United States -- it would be impossible to finish it without changing your self, to some degree. Each section has a map of the leg of the journey he's on with miles hiked, and miles to go. By the end of the book, as the 'to go' got down to less than 150, I was nearly as excited as he must have been -- almost there! Never once did I get the message from him (though others would strongly disagree) that those who don't make it all the way through are 'less than.' In fact, I find myself wondering now if I could be a "section hiker" -- for me, a month would more than meet my pilgrimage needs, while probably being the emotional and physical equivalent of Rubin's 6 month journey.

If you're a wanna be hiker, if you watch the Travel Channel, or liked watching "Survivor" for the adventure and camaraderie (before it started getting really mean), you will love this book! I'll be buying a copy for at least one of my three sons, the middle one who isn't quite sure what to do with the rest of his life. Meanwhile, I'm going to buy myself a book on short hikes on the Appalachian Trail. Anyone care to join me?

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you liked A Walk in the Woods, you'll love this one!, May 29, 2000

By 

Stephen J. Zeoli - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Beaten Path: An Appalachian Pilgrimage (Hardcover)

This book will inevitably be compared to Bill Bryson's recent book about hiking the Appalachian Trail, A Walk in the Woods. This book is far superior. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Walk, but it was mostly just an amusement, without any depth or real insight. Rubin's book gives a far more comprehensive and even realistic account of hiking the AT. For one thing, Rubin actually hiked the entire trail, while Bryson hiked about half--still quite an accomplishment. Bryson's hike is a lark, a way to find another topic to write about. But for Rubin, hiking the AT was far more personal and his reasons for more complicated. That's what we learn about, as we also discover the wonderful, oddball culture that makes the trail so unique.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL!, May 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: On the Beaten Path: An Appalachian Pilgrimage (Hardcover)

I first saw this book erroneously placed in a book store and started reading the first page. After 40 minutes of standing and reading it, I brought it home and devoured it. It is the most enchanting chronicle of a man who does something that everyone in their lifetime thinks about doing. I have always wanted to trek the Appalachian Trail and this book has so much to offer to somebody sho has the vision of finding personal freedom.