Date: 2005-10-18
To: Reading list
Miles today: 0.0

Lots of people are publishing their reading lists, all hoping theirs will be helpful. Mine¢s been good to me, so I¢m adding it to the rest. Besides, I¢m a librarian, so making lists of books is bred in the bone. Being both a librarian and cheap as hell, I¢ve borrowed all of these titles though interlibrary loan. Highly recommended if you¢re trying to save a buck and see a book before you purchase. Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers' Companion / Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association (2005)EssentialBeyond Backpacking: Ray Jardines Guide to Lightweight Hiking / Ray Jardine (1999)The bible of light hiking. Jardine has been working on and reefing his philosophy and gear for years. Even if you can¢t afford to replace all your gear or make your own, many of his suggestions are still useful. He gets a bit preachy at times. The L.L. Bean hiking and backpacking handbook / Keith McCafferty (2001)Covers the topics from gear to clothing to tents and bags. Also advises on weather, first aid and general hiking skills. Advice is succinct and sound. Contains many color photos of good-looking hikers using Beans gear. Overlook the advertising and it¢s good introduction or refresher.Long-Distance Hiking: Lessons from the Appalachian Trail / Roland Mueser (1997)Mueser, a thru-hiker, presents the results of a survey given to a season¢s thru-hikers He reports on the variety of gear choices, strategies and decisions employed by thru-hikers. He considers a variety of strategies rather than right and wrong ways to approach the trail. Survey questions address topics such as camp stoves, daily mileage, animal encounters, and illnesses and injuries. Gear choices may be dated, but most chapters presented information I had not considered.A Season on the Appalachian Trail: An American Odyssey / Lynn Setzer (2001)The author is not a thru-hiker but spent a season on the trail interviewing thrus, reading registers and collecting letters and postcards from hikers. She relates hiker¢s stories and gives credit to all storytellers. The stories are a bit jumbled together but interesting because they are fresh to the tellers. Not for the top of the list, but not bad.Trail Ways, Path Wise: An Appalachian Trail Through-Hike / John Illig (1998)A good read proving that there are many experiences and perspectives on the trail. Illig is a coach and athlete and it shows. Even though he claims not to be competing with other hikers, he brags about his 25-mile days, admires himself in motel mirrors, and heads for a gym to lift one of his few a zero days. He also shows disdain for all day and weekend hikers he meets on the trail and in shelters. Like him or hate him, he¢s definitely a character. Pay attention to his troubles following a night in a New Jersey field.The Ultralight Backpacker : The Complete Guide to Simplicity and Comfort on the Trail /Ryel Kestenbaum (2001)I like this one better than Jardine. Kestenbaum makes similar points, but he¢s much more succinct and doesn¢t venture too far into the mystical. I probably won¢t spend the time trimming the brand labels of my gear to save fractions of ounces thoughWalkin' on the Happy Side of Misery: A Slice of Life on the Appalachian Trail / Junius R. Tate (2001)Good title is the only thing to recommend about this book. I quit reading after twenty pages. Tate tries so hard to create atmosphere and be literate that he forgets about telling his story. The back-and-forth dialog with the alter ego who lives in his head was maddening. His trail name should have been Sybil.White Blaze Fever / Bill Schuette (2003)Tied with Wild Bird¢s Song as my favorite. A straightforward description if the trail, shelters, pain and stress, and satisfying triumphs and personal interactions. I was a little surprised by the anticlimactic summit after the 2000-mile buildup, but the story of the preceding journey was worth it. Walking the Appalachian Trail / Larry Luxenberg, Mike Warren (1994)Not a thru-hikers story or a guidebook. Read it for trail history, lore, and personalities. It¢s a tribute to the spirit of the trail. The Wild Birds' Song / Jim Coplen (1998)Only southbound trail story by I¢ve found. It¢s basically a well-written journal. Unlike the very social experiences reported by northbound hikers, this one depicts a solitary journey occasionally shared by a few other very determined hikers. No cozy trail towns or relief for the fist hundred miles and a relatively empty trail from Virginia to Georgia make this a very different story but satisfying to both the writer and the reader. I¢ll admit I teared up at his final gesture at the end of the trail.I will keep this entry updated as the list grows.