APPALACHIAN TRAIL - BOOKS (AND VIDEOS)
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Recommended
if you hike the A.T. but don't plan to thru-hike.....
Exploring the Appalachian Trail: Georgia, North Carolina and
Tennessee
Hikes in the Virginias
Hikes in the Mid-Atlantic States: Maryland,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York
Exploring the Appalachian Trail Hikes in Southern New
England: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont
Hikes in Northern New England : New Hampshire and Maine
10 b/w photos 75 maps 5 x 7 Complete descriptions of 170
great day hikes on the AT Easy-to-read topographic maps and elevation profiles
for each hike Plants, wildlife, and historical points to see along the way
From
the spruce forests of Tennessee and the leafy gorges of Virginia to the rolling
Pennsylvania hills and the rocky heights of New England, the Appalachian Trail
offers 2,200 miles of hiking opportunities. The five books in this series
present accurate, detailed information for 170 day hikes (and a few
overnighters), all recommended by AT experts. Where to start and finish, water
sources and shelters, early exit options, and what to expect on the trail itself
are described. Specially commissioned easy-to-read-and-use topographic maps and
elevation profiles accompany each recommended hike; mileage data, the best
direction to travel, route difficulty, and sources for additional maps and
information are also included. Each book points out natural and historical
features plants, trees, animals, landforms, bridges,
vistas that make the recommended hikes special. 37
hikes in New Hampshire and Maine.
Birdshooter's Take: These
books are particularly useful to anyone that does a lot of one and two day hikes
along the Appalachian Trail. Most guidebooks don't have profile maps, but
these have both a profile and a trail map in the book. There is also other
useful information that you don't always find in a guidebook including
recommended campsites, loop options (if you want to use some blue-blazed side
trails to loop back to your starting point), and a summary of the itinerary in a
mileage format. My Recommendation: Buy this book over
the ATC books. There's more detail and they have trail and profile maps.
Recommended
if you plan to thru-hike....
The
Thru-Hiker's Handbook - 2008
THE THRU-HIKER'S HANDBOOK is the guidebook of
choice for doing extended hikes on the Appalachian Trail. Most of the hardy men
and women who have done end-to-end or long section hikes on the A.T. in the past
dozen years have carried this book with them as an indispensable part of their
gear.
Updated
annually, it contains detailed information about shelters, campsites, water
sources, and other important Trail facilities along the entire 2,172.6-mile
footpath, as well as the latest available information about places in nearby
towns used by thru-hikers for rest and resupply ... the inside scoop
on hundreds of preferred hostels, campgrounds, motels, restaurants, grocery
stores, laundromats, outfitters, and other services. All information is
presented in an easy-to-follow format designed specifically for field use, and
has been assembled from data gathered firsthand by the author or contributed by
A.T. club members and long-distance hikers from previous years. Maps of towns
most frequently used by long-distance hikers are included, and this edition
contains mileage data for the entire A.T. from Georgia to Maine or vice versa.
As you use it, you will find that The Thru-hiker's Handbook has everything you
need for hiking on the Appalachian Trail; designed for use on either northbound
or southbound thru-hikes. The 2003 edition was released for distribution on
January 15, 2003.
Birdshooter's Take:
Wingfoot's book was carried by almost everyone I met during my thru-hike. The Handbook details the countless shelters,
water sources, campsites, and facilities along the A.T. all the way from Georgia
to Maine. It also includes valuable information on health hazards, trail
ethics, trail etiquette, and general suggestions for the hiker. Wingfoot
includes town maps and a trail itinerary to make this one of the "must have"
items in your pack if you plan to thru-hike. My Recommendation:
Get either the Thru-Hiker's Handbook or the ATC Companion if you plan to
thru-hike, but don't buy both. They contain the same information.
(Note: Amazon no longer carries Wingfoot's book. If you click the
link above, you are directed directly to his website.)
Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers' Companion - 2008
Compiled, written, and edited for the
Appalachian Trail Conference by volunteers of the Appalachian Long Distance
Hikers Association (ALDHA), the Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers' Companion is
intended for those making
thru-hikes but also is valuable for those taking shorter section-hikes. The
Companion provides you with details on towns and services along the Trail.
Birdshooter's Take: The ATC
Companion is another great information resource for the thru-hiker and the
combined resources of ALDHA provide a variety of view points on shelters,
campsites, towns and nearby facilities to the A.T. My
Recommendation: Get either the Thru-Hiker's Handbook or the ATC
Companion if you plan to thru-hike, but don't buy both. They contain the
same information.
Appalachian Trail Data Book - 2008
Twenty-fifth edition of the
indispensable quick-glance guide to hiking the Appalachian Trail. It condenses
all the major features of 11 guidebooks into one slim volume, updated each fall
after the dedicated volunteer caretakers have finished building new shelters or
moving the footpath to better locations. The 2003 edition keys mileage and
landmark information to official A.T. maps and guidebooks, with coded guides to
shelters, towns, water sources, lodging, and eateries--both north-to-south and
south-to-north.
Birdshooter's Take:
The Appalachian Trail data
book has the most current trail information available on the A.T. The
format is written for both the northbound and southbound hiker and the mileage
is listed in itinerary format.
My Recommendation: You don't
need this book unless you plan to thru-hike, but for long distance hikers it is
a better purchase than all the individual ATC books which are more cumbersome to
pack and interchange as you make your way north (or south). Also,
Wingfoot's Thru-Hiker's Handbook has similar (although less detailed)
mileage information and many thru-hiker's I know relied on it over the A.T. Data
Book.
Containing
not only the advice distilled from the experiences of successful thru-hikers,
this is also a write-on, rip-out-the-pages workbook of checklists, overnight
stops, maildrops, etc. Food, equipment, money, weather, shelters, distances to
towns--it's all covered. Excellent companion to The Appalachian Trail
Conference's series of 11 official guidebooks to the Appalachian Trail.
(Note: This book is out of print
(according to Amazon.com). Some used books may be available at the link
above.)
APPALACHIAN TRAIL - VIDEOS
TREK
is the story of four young men and the people they meet as they attempt to hike
the 2,168 miles of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. This documentary
is shot and edited by the hikers themselves, and is the most accurate portrayal
of Thru-Hiker life that has been produced to date. Spanning 14 states and five
months, this critically-acclaimed film will inspire you to follow your own
dreams, no matter what the odds.
North
To Katahdin was eight years in the making and is a shimmering portrait of the
journey. The cinematic tour de force presents a tapestry of challenges,
transcendant beauty, personal triumph and intimate reflection. From the Spring
flowers in the Southern Appalachians to some of the world's most daunting
weather conditions on Mt. Washington, North To Katahdin bears witness to the
importance of preservation of natural resources.
Inspired by Bill Bryson’s A
Walk in the Woods, director Douglas Morse and producer Heide Estes traveled to
the
southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia. They became fascinated
with all of the hikers they met. From Jack, who got stuck with an angry dog, to
Malice and Kentucky, the Cheech and Chong of the A.T., to Matt and Angie, who
planned to get married on the trail when they reached Pennsylvania. On the first
day out, Estes and Morse met Chad, an easy going guy in excellent shape who
found himself tempted to walk off the trail after just a few days. Hikers like
Chad become our eyes and ears on the six month journey to Maine’s Mount Katahdin,
more than 2000 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia.
Recommended for
leisure reading....
A
Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the A.T.
Bill Bryson has made a living out of
traveling, and then
writing about it. In A Walk in the Woods Bill Bryson tackles
what is, for him, an entirely new subject: the American wilderness. Accompanied
only by his old college buddy Stephen Katz, Bryson starts out one March morning
in north Georgia, intending to walk the entire 2,100 miles to trail's end atop
Maine's Mount Katahdin. If nothing else, A Walk in the Woods is proof positive
that the journey is the destination. As Bryson and Katz haul their out-of-shape,
middle-aged butts over hill and dale, the reader is treated to both a very funny
personal memoir and a delightful chronicle of the trail, the people who created
it, and the places it passes through. Whether you plan to make a trip like this
one yourself one day or only care to read about it, A Walk in the Woods is a
great way to spend an afternoon. 469 pages. Hardcover. Amazon.com
Birdshooter's Take:
Bryson only hiked 800 miles
of the A.T., but this book is still a good laugh and a great read. The
author is an excellent adventure writer and this book is enjoyable whether you
are a hiker or not.
My Recommendation:
It was a New York Times
best seller for a reason. Check it out.
In Beauty May She Walk; Hiking the Appalachian
Trail at 60
In
2000, Leslie began to train for a grueling journey - a thru-hike of the 2,000
mile Appalachian Trail. In Beauty May She Walk chronicles Leslie's
hike. As the terrain toughens, Leslie struggles to physically keep up with
the trail community she depends on socially to keep going. She realizes
the difficulty of maintaining her obligations to family and friends while
focusing her efforts on putting one foot in front of the other, every day.
After September 11, 2001, she copes with being seemingly the only hiker on the
trail for miles, eventually forcing her to change her definition of "hiking her
own hike".
Birdshooter's Take: This is
one of a number of books that chronicle a thru-hiker's adventures on the A.T.
It is unique, however, since Leslie Mass completes a 'flip flop" hike starting
in Pennsylvania, hiking north to Katahdin, and then walking south to Georgia.
Leslie provides a very candid account of the thru-hiker experience, and the book
will be particularly interesting to any backpackers who are considering "hiking
their own hike" and bucking the "Georgia to Maine" trend that 90% of thru-hikers
follow. Leslie (also known as "Gotta Hike") is among a growing number of
adults that are 50+ in age that tackle the A.T. Her perspective may be
particularly interesting to these individuals who are one of the largest
sub-groups of thru-hikers on the trail.
Walkin' on the Happy Side of Misery
"Model
T"--the alter ego of retired Marine Corps officer Tate--tells the story of
"their" three thru-hikes in the 1990s with an unusual eye for detail and an ear
for laughs. Despite the length, this one is a fast-moving keeper for
long-distance hiking veterans.
White Blaze Fever
William
Schuette (Trail name: Mountain Slayer) was born in the small hamlet of North
Star, Ohio, and caught the hiking bug while on a vacation with his family in the
Shenandoah National Park. Following a thirty-year career in education, Bill
retired and succumbed to "White Blaze Fever" as he fulfilled his long time dream
of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail.
APPALACHIAN TRAIL - GAMES
Learn
about hiking the Appalachian Trail as you play the Trail Magic game. Fun and
fast moving play is created by a combination of multiple choice trivia
questions, chance, food rations and questions about your trail mates. The game
is designed for groups of 2 or more and ages 10 and up. Start at either Springer
Mountain in Georgia, the southern end of the trail or at Mt. Katahdin in Maine
at the northern end. Pick up rations at food stops, cross your fingers that the
bears don't eat your food, and answer trivia questions as you try to make your
way to the other end of the trail. The game board shows many of the important
landmarks and towns along the trail as well as watercolor illustrations of a few
sites. 140 trivia cards as well as 60 environmental hazard & hiking community
cards are included. A portion of proceeds from the sale of Trail Magic benefits
the Appalachian Trail Conference, which maintains the Appalachian Trail.
