A Journey North: One Woman's Story of Hiking the Appalachian Trail (Paperback)

by Adrienne Hall (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
There is no greater pilgrimage for the die-hard outdoorsperson in the U.S. than hiking the 2,100-mile-long Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. Pioneered in the 1920s and '30s by thousands of nature lovers who recognized the importance of setting aside land for outdoor recreation, the trail is one of America's most ambitious and impressive wilderness-preserving achievements. A Journey North is environmentalist Adrienne Hall's candid account of completing the grueling "thru-hike" (the hikers' term for the end-to-end trek), a feat more commonly accomplished by men.

A young woman brimming with idealism and ardor for the outdoors, Hall is nevertheless challenged to her core by the hardships of daily exposure to nature's elements. At the outset she naively imagines the trip as a six-month-long "date" with her boyfriend, Craig; that romantic notion is soon numbed by the duress of hiking 20 or more miles a day. They cheerfully begin their journey on February 15 at Georgia's Springer Mountain, each carrying backpacks overstuffed with provisions they would later abandon. While traversing the trail's 14 states, they battle snow, sleet, rain, mosquitoes, biting flies, and flooding rivers; endure the pains of blisters that can't heal and muscles, joints, and tendons weary from endless trudging; and adapt to a monotonous diet of dehydrated foods, Snickers bars, granola, and peanut butter. They cope with the miseries of stepping into frozen boots in the morning, going unwashed for days, and sleeping in cold, wet sleeping bags. Of course, there are uplifting moments, too, such as meeting fellow thru-hikers--characters named Seldom Seen, Otter, Nudeman, and Yard o'Beef--and "trail angels," folks who nourish and house the bedraggled travelers. Most importantly, there's the transcendent immersion in nature: waking up in the crisp mountain air, the hours of solitude and self-reflection, the sunsets, the satisfaction of subsisting close to the earth.

By the end of A Journey North, Hall has known both suffering and bliss. Her happiness peaks when Craig proposes marriage on Saddleback Mountain as they gaze on their final destination, Mount Katahdin, Maine. Throughout, Hill's narrative is vivid and insightful, ranging from honest acknowledgements of her doubts and fears to expositions on the environmental issues facing the Appalachians (and the world in general) to confessions of growing affection for Craig. While prone to descending into cliché, Hall's acute awareness of nature's endangerment is authentic and inspiring, and her awakening to both her emotional and physical strength as a woman is poignant. This book will be invaluable to anyone considering a journey north, or south, of their own. --Rebecca Wright --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
The adventure of hiking the Appalachian Trail has already been described in many guidebooks, inspirational accounts (Jean Deed's There Are Mountains To Climb), and humorous stories (Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods). Hall (Backpacking: A Woman's Guide) has managed to combine all three of those genres into one excellent narrative that depicts Hall's experience of hiking the trail with her boyfriend from Georgia to Maine and also discusses the trail's historical background as well as the issues it currently faces. Although Hall may get up on the environmental soapbox a little too often, her narrative keeps the reader turning the pages. Entertaining, well written, and informative, this book will appeal both to those contemplating a hike of the trail and to the armchair travelers. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.
-John J. McCormick, New Hampshire State Lib., Concord
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: 240 pages
• Publisher: Appalachian Mountain Club Books; 1st edition (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929173059
• ISBN-13: 978-1929173051
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #796,698 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars ya hike 6 months and whaddya get?, July 19, 2000

By	"tolleyst" (Johnson City, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Journey North: One woman's story of hiking the Appalachian Trail (Hardcover)

I was disappointed with this very surface narrative of 6 months on the AT. There should be more about the author's personal growth, insight into her psyche, reconnection with nature, etc. The book failed to meet my expectations. It was similar to Bryson's "a walk in the woods" with the historical, ecological, and biological sections interspersed between Trail narrative, but Bryson's is much better. I skipped those sections in her book because it's basically the same treatment & information as Bryson's, only bland. Hall lacks a sense of humor, and her writing is quite dry and dull. I didn't get a sense of her personality at all in what should be a quite personal book. Surely there were more occasions of note that she could have written about, or explicated further. Even daily things like how she coped with toting around soiled sanitary supplies would be interesting. Or deconstructing the myth that a menstruating woman in the woods is forbidden (maybe she addresses that in her other book?) I think the author is banking on the female perspective to market this book, but there was only one thing metioned that was an exclusive female experience; Hall having to leave the shelter to change her clothes when there were hikers other than her boyfriend around. Hall mentions that the appeal of the AT is the social aspect. She barely describes 2 or 3 social interactions, nor does she have any real opinions about being social or even the psychological fallout from her social isolation (though she does speak to her increasing annoyance with civilization & it's encroachment upon the AT). She mentions the predominatly male mindset/orientation of the AT, and I hoped for an analysis and critique of that, but no such luck. Transition from one event to the next is somewhat off. Who edited this? In one sentence Hall & Co. battle skeeters and the next thing the reader knows, they are showering in anticipation of pizza and TV (just an example, that may not be how it actually happened in the book). I look forward to exploring AT literature from a woman's perspective in hopes of finding a mature, readable, reflective, wise, and entertaining voice; is that asking too much? Okay, so it was boring. So nothing too terribly exciting or dramatic happened to Hall on her trip; other than at the end, but one must trek through the bulk of the book to arrive there. And that was even downplayed.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not as expected, July 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Journey North: One woman's story of hiking the Appalachian Trail (Hardcover)

I bought this book because I expected a strong female voice about thru hiking. Adrienne whines through most of the trip, always complaining about something. Before I hiked on the Appalachian Trail, I read most everything that I could find about the subject. Thankfully this book was not available at that time, because reading her accounts may have encouraged me not to proceed with the hike. I would suggest the Bryson book (A Walk in the Woods), it brings humor to the subject and maybe Adrienne would have had a better time with a little sense of humor.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not what I was hoping for, June 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Journey North: One woman's story of hiking the Appalachian Trail (Hardcover)

Most of the book reads like a term paper. There are precious few details about the day to day experiences and nature encountered. I had the feeling throughout that Ms. Hall would rather have been somewhere else, and I found it too personal at times- just not what I was looking for.