A Season on the Trail: An American Odyssey (Official Guides to the Appalachian Trail) [Paperback]

Lynn Setzer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 2001 | Series: Official Guides to the Appalachian Trail

Each spring, a group of people attempt a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Setzer follows these determined hikers from Georgia to Maine. In this new edition, hikers reveal five years later how their experiences on the Trail changed their lives.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

'Originally, I was attracted to the AT for the adventure of walking the whole thing at once... Even as I finished, I did not understand those who chose to repeat the walk. But the next spring I found I wanted to go. And I understood that you never walk the same trail twice... I learned that I walk to fill my heart with wonder, to feed my soul.' - Merlin 'I know I'll be out there again. I don't know when and I don't know with whom. But I know, once more I'll live the nomadic life I loved on the Appalachian Trail.' - Trail Gimp These are some of the voices of thru-hikers in A Season on the Appalachian Trail. Each year this unique breed of adventurers brave a 2,100 mile trail through a barrage of weather and an array of circumstances. Gathered from trail registers, post cards, and personal interviews, their voices come alive to evoke the true spirit of the AT. Now with a special retrospective epilogue, A Season on the Appalachian Trail vividly recounts the joy and anguish of thru-hiking. Whether documenting their journey or contemplating its impact on their lives, the voices in A Season on the Appalachian Trail will entrance you with their honesty and humanity. (6 X 9, 240 pages, b&w photos, maps)

Product Details

• Paperback: 222 pages
• Publisher: Menasha Ridge Press; 2nd edition (May 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897323823
• ISBN-13: 978-0897323826
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #882,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book of Memories, October 22, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Northwest Florida- Pensacola to be exact) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Season on the Appalachian Trail (Paperback)

Lynn's account of the AT class of 1996 was delightfully conversational, and the clarity of her writing gave me a unique perspective of the hikers' progress in a chronological interpretation of life on the `Trail.' Her month by month account of several hikers told the stories of not only the hikers who finished, but some of those who fell off along the way. It is necessary read for anyone contemplating the Appalachian Trail. This is a story of glory and a humility as told to the author through correspondence and Lynn's first hand interviews of hikers as she followed their progress North. -= Ed Daniels =- Pensacola, FL

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost 5 stars but Lynn didn't thru hike. Only reported., March 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: A Season on the Appalachian Trail (Paperback)

This book is a mish-mash of stories about thru hikers from Georgia to Main. The author did not actually thru hike but hopped between points - Interviewing and keeping up with certain individuals along the way. When I first started reading the book I was a bit disappointed. You get the feeling of being a dispassionate observer watching a carnival of naive rookies about to "hit the trail" for a fun time. But as the book progresses the feeling becomes more serious and moving. I would recommend reading Jim Coplan's "Wild Bird Song" about his personal thru hike from Main to Georgia.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Jumble of Hiker Entries, July 16, 2002

By 

Kerosene (Minneapolis, MN, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Season on the Trail: An American Odyssey (Official Guides to the Appalachian Trail) (Paperback)

I was a little disappointed in the format of this book. Basically, the author strings together comments and observations pulled from interviews and trail registers throughout the 1996 hiking season. Some comments were certainly interesting and entertaining, but they didn't blend together very well. The epilogue, written a few years later based on interviews of some of the 1996 thru-hikers, was a little better.