Walking to Vermont: From Times Square Into the Green Mountains -- a Homeward Adventure [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Christopher S. Wren (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2004

From Publishers Weekly: Whereas retirement from a successful career is often synonymous with a blowout party and the purchase of a sports car, former New York Times reporter Wren, who served as bureau chief in Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, Ottawa and Johannesburg, chose to defy the status quo and celebrate his own retirement by hiking nearly 400 miles in five weeks from Manhattan to Fairlee, Vt. Though this is a solo rite-of-passage, Wren, who became known on the trails as "Super Tortoise" for his slow but steadfast pace, encounters and befriends fellow hikers from around the world. Along the way, they swap camping stories and compare equipment, and as Wren's course meanders through fields and mountains, torrential downpours and tranquil sunsets, he learns to find comfort in the muddy, wet and open terrain. Wren departs from New York armed with the basics, including a copy of Thoreau's Walden, and slowly leaves the city's frazzled pace behind. Accompanied sporadically by old friends out for a day hike, Wren sheds his would-be retiree facade to become a hardened and resolute mountain man. With each state, he encounters refreshing vistas, new faces and mishaps, whether a twisted ankle or a risky tick-bite. Though navigating the snaking paths along the Appalachian Trail doesn't quite compare with interviewing an opium drug lord in Southeast Asia or going on an unplanned cocaine bust in Colombia, Wren fills this report with humor and historical references, tying escapades of his past with adventures from his current voyage. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 357 pages
• Publisher: RB Large Print (2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402579462
• ISBN-13: 978-1402579462
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,294,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Appalachian Odyssey, March 8, 2004

By 

Brian P Rafferty (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walking to Vermont: From Times Square into the Green Mountains -- a Homeward Adventure (Hardcover)

How many of us have had fantasies of walking away from the life we've known into a cleansing wilderness and emerging, at the end of the ordeal, renewed? Christopher S. Wren, former New York Times correspondent did just that. Upon retirement, he strode out of New York City and made his way to his home in Vermont via the meandering Appalachian Trail. Along the way, he kept company with a motley crew of other travelers, ominous black SUVs, mosquitoes and his memories. This isn't just a travelogue of sights along the way, though, it's a layered story of a man's life at a turning point, weaving remembrances (some harrowing) from a long life lived in many foreign places into the new, unfolding story of a man who is no longer what he was.

It's not to be confused with Travels with Charley, John Steinbeck's wonderful tale of travel across the country with his trusty poodle. Steinbeck was in search of his country's identity, but Christopher Wren's goal is more personal -- he's searching for his new self.

Wren's self-designed rite of passage fulfills the requirement of all such rites: redefinition. He begins his journey as a man at the end of a professional life, graduating into a gray, undefined role as "retiree". He emerges from the trail with a deep understanding of the meaninglessness of such titles and the resilience of human character.

The editorial reviews above mention that the book will be appreciated by hikers and lovers of "off beat adventures", etc. I think the book will be appreciated by anyone who wants to understand better how to be an adult and, last time I checked, that was everybody.

4.0 out of 5 stars Walking To Vermont- a reader's thoughts, June 17, 2009

By 

Doug Doogood "Hiker Doug" (Central Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walking to Vermont: From Times Square into the Green Mountains -- a Homeward Adventure (Paperback)

Christopher Wren's walk is relatively short and tame compared to others who have written of trekking. Despite the lack of dangers, Wren's observations are interesting, humorous and educational. His editorial comments were keen and moved the book along by mixing daily events and thoughts in just the right doses.
The book did bog down along the Appalachian Trail (just like most long walks bog down at points). Overall, the book is an enjoyable, educational, easy read and well worth the time I invested in it.

5.0 out of 5 stars No denial here, it's a good read!, March 4, 2007

By 

M. G. "MG" (Northern VA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Walking to Vermont: From Times Square into the Green Mountains -- a Homeward Adventure (Paperback)

I have yet to hike the Appalachian trail, and I'm only 41, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author has some wisdom well worth sharing, as well as a very candid view of his experience. I didn't feel he was in denial at all. Rather, he was realizing that 65 isn't so old, after all. This book is about the physical AND emotional journey into retirement. If you are interested in human nature as well as mother nature, chances are you will enjoy it. I gave it 5 stars to make up for some of those 2 star submissions. I've given it to my Mom, who has read it and enjoyed it and plans to give it to my sister. I wouldn't be surprised if it makes it's way to my Dad after that ... Enjoy.