Customer Reviews

An Eye on the Horizon

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My family has origins in Southwest Virginia and I always wondered when we drove south down I-77 what the sign "Appalachian Trail" meant. The author did an excellent job describing his journey. I found the book easy to read. His attention to his surroundings and his honesty made it hard for me to put the book down. I met the author and his wife this past summer before reading the book. I have a tremendous amount of respect for these people and hope to someday make this journey myself. The trip obviously takes intense planning and the author not only shares some of his resources with us, but he also shares some of the changes he made during his trek whether it be shoes he wore or the type of tent he changed to later in his journey through New England. It is not just a hiker book. It is a story of determination. It is a story of not only setting a goal, but attaining it with the help of his family. Good Book!

As anyone who's ever walked for more than a few hours knows it can be hard work. Imagine walking from Georgia to Maine; over mountains and through rivers; seeing everyting from tourists to Black Bear. "An Eye on the Horizon" offers readers an opportunity to tag along with a man fufillng his dream of hiking the entire Appalachian Trail. This is a factual book, told with a voice that was raised in the country. A voice that would rather tell you what flowers to look for rather than flowery language. It's also a story of family, because no one makes the trip alone. I made me want to go put on my pack and go for a lone walk in the woods.

"Hiking the Trail could be compared to the journey through life itself," Eye writes in one of his book's few contemplative passages. "Both have highs and lows, steep climbs and easy climbs, bright skies and dark skies, times of joy and times of disappointment, great views and no views at all, love and sadness--and the list goes on. You might say hiking the Trail is a parallel to life's journey" (p. 280). This is not a book about thru-hiking the 2158.8-mile Appalachian Trail. Rather, according to Eye's Preface, it is his account of section-hiking and slack-packing the Trail from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mt. Katahdin, Maine "over a period of several years." Nevertheless, his 319-page Trail narrative reads seamlessly.

Eye does a terrific job conveying the "inspiration and spiritual renewal" he experiences on the Trail (p. 52), despite the seemingly neverending "hot spots" and blisters on his feet. I won't soon forget the the realities Eye's AT hike, either: his ridge-top encounters with "hurricane force winds" (p. 204), pushing up foggy "4000-plus footers--some with open rocky pinnacles" in "the Majestic Whites" (p. 229), and conquering "the Toughest Mile" through "The Notch." He writes, "at one point, I lay down on the rock's and cried" (p. 239). Another favorite moment occurs when Eye meets a fellow hiker, "The Poet," who says: "Scholars claim the Earth is round, but I'm convinced it's up and down" (p. 243). That's a poem to memorize!

This is one of several books I have read recently about hiking the Appalachian Trail. Although it is not the best of the bunch in my opinion, because of Eye's realistic descriptions and memorable moments on the Trail, it is nevertheless worth reading. Check out Bryson's WALK IN THE WOODS, Rubin's ON THE BEATEN PATH, and Hall's A JOURNEY NORTH for some other, good armchair AT thru-hiking.

G. Merritt

I'm sorry, but I found this book too boring to even finish. I'd have to agree with the lone 2-star reviewer who said it is just another trail log. There is little in the way of wildlife and scenery descriptions, other than a laundry list of species observed, and not much as far as stories about people the author met on the trail. Mostly, the author wrote a paragraph or so per day about what he ate, how far he walked, and where he slept.

There are a few photographs, many out of focus, and all in black and white.

This book is not cheap, and in my opinion, not worth reading.

This book puts you out on the trail with the author. I celebrated his triumphs and teared up during his downfalls. I could almost feel the blisters on the feet of the hikers. The strength and determination it must take to complete such a hike is breathtaking.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. After completing the last chapter, I felt that I had hiked the trail from beginning to end myself. I especially enjoyed the colorful historical facts the author included concerning the Appalachian Trail.

This book was so inspiring to me because I am starting my 50`s and i love to read about people who who like hiking as much as I do regardless of age I have been on the Applachian Trail and fell in love with the trail and hiking in general.This book deals a lot about human goals and the human spirit.I would recommend it to anyone who would like to be inspired to accomplish anything in life that they wanted to.A gerat book and a great story.

I also have had the dream of hiking this magnificent trail since hiking a small section on Roan Mt. as an 11 yr old Boy Scout. I was totally taken by this book from beginning to end.It was if I was experincing the joy,excitement,fatigue,and pain of this journey with the author. I was ready to reverse the trip and go back to Georgia again.

This book was easy to read and kept my attention all the way to the end. I purchased the book wondering if it would be something that I would enjoy reading since I myself am not a back-country hiker. What I found was a story that was both inspiring and enlightening. You do not have to be a hiking enthusiast to enjoy this material. After reading it, I felt as if I had participated in the hike with the author. Two of my friends also purchased the book and felt the same way. In fact, we were so inspired by his story that we decided to take on the trail ourselves, and I must say I now have a new-found respect for all that have made this trek. I hope the author has another adventure that he will write about in the near future!

After the high praise and 5-star rating of the other reviewers, I expected much more than just another AT thru-hike trail log. Logs of similar, if not better, quality can be found on numerous Internet sites. For a published work, I expected to see a lot more depth on Trail history, interesting people encountered and creative insights. Even the 8-12 photos at the start of each chapter were black and white! The text meanders from day to day, becoming increasingly repetitive as the chapters pile up. On the plus side, I did get a few insights into the VT/NH section I'll be hiking this fall that go beyond what is available in the guidebook.

In retrospect, this book might appeal more to readers with limited long-distance hiking experience. Hmmm, perhaps I should publish my Trail notes?