Appalachian Trail at the Smithsonian

Earl Shaffer Exhibit

On Friday the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History opened an exhibit on Earl Shaffer and the Appalachian Trail. The exhibit features some of Earl's artifacts, like the boots he wore on his pioneering 1948 thru-hike of the A.T. and the journal he kept as well as the slides he took along the trail. The exhibit does a great job of capturing Earl's feat and his life. An added feature of the exhibit are several interactive maps of the trail. By touching a spot on the map one gets a diary entry and photo from that spot. The exhibit runs in the Albert H. Small Documents Gallery through October 11.

 
http://americanhistory.si.edu/documentsgallery/exhibitions.html

Hiking Books

AWOL on the Appalachian Trail

I've read a lot of books on hiking the Appalachian Trail and the variety of new and different stories is endless. Because each person is different and each trip is different, there's always something new and exciting in each book.

I do have to confess that I've been reading fewer A.T. books in recent years. But this spring I met AWOL at Trail Days and read his book. I consider it one of the best accounts of a thru-hike. He had an unusual story, a middle-aged father with young daughters breaking away to do a thru-hike in mid-career.  Naturally, being away from his family affected every part of his trip and he was candid in his portrayal. He seemed to suffer more than his share of injuries and pain and took more than his fair share of joy from the thru-hike. I also found it unusual that his younger brother had thru-hiked several decades before.

AWOL's descriptions of the trail were fresh and original and brought me back to experiences of many years ago. Some things about the trail are timeless and some are new with each fresh class of thru-hikers. I  took a great deal of pleasure in this chance to spend vicarious time in the company of AWOL and his companions.

http://www.awolonthetrail.com/

Linda "Earthworm" Patton has put together a great site on hiking books across the U.S. There's no more comprehensive listing online that I'm aware of and Linda's site is also filled with links and information on the trails as well as lively features.

http://www.booksforhikers.com/

A good source of hiking books and maps is the book department at Campmor, Inc. in Ramsey, N.J. and in their online catalogue. Their selection is as comprehensive as I've seen in recent years and includes books on hiking in all 50 states as well as related topics dealing with the outdoors and nature. Their book buyer , Roger Williamson, is one of the real experts on hiking literature.

www.campmor.com

New Appalachian Trail Books

Two recent Appalachian Trail books have surprised me quite a bit. In both cases I had known the authors for many years and thought I knew their stories well. In neither case am I impartial and I've enjoyed both books. In one case I wrote the forward and in the other, I wrote a pre-publication blurb. Still, without hesitation, I can heartily recommend both books.The first, by Gene Espy, the 1951 A.T. thru-hiker, is "The Trail of My Life: The Gene Espy Story." www.geneespyhiker.com. Over the years I have heard Gene tell his trail stories many times but most of the material in the book was knew to me. It is engaging and in places hilarious and is a faithful account of a unique life. The other book is "Racing Light: The Soft Power of a Day's Walk" by Charlie Duane. www.cduane.net. It is an account of his walks covering the entire East Coast. Charlie is also a highly skilled photographer and blends photos and text in a distinctive way. I had read an early manuscript of part of the story and had heard much about it. Even so, most of the material was new to me, so much so that it compelled my attention. After reading many dozens of trail books over the years, I still find it astonishing that authors continue to find dramatically fresh approaches to trail accounts. These are two books that will find a distinguished place in the trail community for many years.