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John Guterman
Citizen Username: John_guterman
Post Number: 1 Registered: 5-2003
| Posted on Friday, May 16, 2003 - 11:01 pm: |
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Wondering if anyone would be interested in some day hikes on the Appalachian Trail. I've done about 250 miles so far, and I'd like to start on Pennsylvania this summer. No experience is necessary, nor equipment other than a pair of good boots and food/water. It's scenic, good exercise, and you almost certainly won't wind up having to saw off any extremities with a pocketknife like that guy in Utah. Email at guterman@comcast.net if interested. |
   
millie
Citizen Username: Millie
Post Number: 56 Registered: 6-2001
| Posted on Monday, May 19, 2003 - 2:39 pm: |
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John, I know this doesn't exactly address your post, but maybe you can contact the Union County Hiking Club. They offer hikes throughout the year. Some are local, such as various parts of the SM Reservation, but also in Wayne, Paterson, several points in Morris Cnty. I'd post a link but it would require I type in some squiggles which I don't recognize as a key on my keyboard. If you just type "Union County Hiking Club", I'm sure your browser will find it. It looks like they have a few more hikes scheduled for this year, and maybe you can find a like-minded individual there. |
   
bella
Citizen Username: Bella
Post Number: 307 Registered: 7-2001
| Posted on Monday, May 19, 2003 - 4:17 pm: |
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Are you planning on completing the whole AT at some point? I live in Ohio now so I can't join you. Wish that I could. If you haven't read it, might I suggest A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. It is laugh aloud funny, as are all his books. |
   
wnb
Citizen Username: Wnb
Post Number: 36 Registered: 8-2001
| Posted on Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 10:16 am: |
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Here's another take on the AT thru-hike experience: http://www.skwc.com/exile/Hail-nf.html Most real thru-hikers dislike the Bryson book for a wide variety of reasons. I personally felt it was amusing but the least accomplished of his books.
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zoesky
Citizen Username: Zoesky
Post Number: 96 Registered: 6-2002
| Posted on Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 1:18 pm: |
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I'm not much of a hiker (South Mtn Reservation is my speed) but I disliked the Bryson book because he didn't really hike the whole thing yet tried to take credit for doing so. He hitched a ride from a trucker or something at some point, then skipped a a big chunk of it. Wnb, is that why real thru-hikers don't like it? |
   
wnb
Citizen Username: Wnb
Post Number: 37 Registered: 8-2001
| Posted on Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 2:17 pm: |
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Oh also the New York / New Jersey Trail Conference is a good organization and resource. http://nynjtc.org
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wnb
Citizen Username: Wnb
Post Number: 38 Registered: 8-2001
| Posted on Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 2:29 pm: |
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Zoesky, That's one of the reasons. He also advocates building inns all along the trail so campers don't have to camp in lean-tos or pitch tents, and some of his chapters stray very far off the AT, for instance that abandoned mining town in PA is pretty far off the trail, and certainly not part of most thru-hikers' experience. The list goes on and on. Ultimately, though, he isn't writing a book for thru hikers, he's writing a book for non-thru-hikers... much bigger market to sell books to! As bella says, Bryson is quite funny and this book is generally no exception, but for purists there are just some issues they can't overlook. As an aside and further tangent, Bryson has a new book out and it is reviewed in last Sunday's NY Times Book Review. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/18/books/review/18REGIST.html
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wnb
Citizen Username: Wnb
Post Number: 39 Registered: 8-2001
| Posted on Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 2:37 pm: |
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Back to the topic of the thread! John, there's interest here but probably little real opportunity with a new baby in the household. That said, we're planning on getting one of those backpack thingies and trying a few forays into the wilderness with the little one this summer. Depending on how it goes, hiking could be back in our future... OK I gotta quit posting to this thread for a while...
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