Walk in the Woods
I saw a trailer for the movie and saw the name Bill Bryson which is familiar to me because I've read a book by him before that I enjoyed. I looked into it and decided to get the audiobook since I saw many good reviews about it. I enjoyed listening to the author's voice so I thought this is the perfect way to get into it rather than reading it myself. The audiobook is abridged and its nearly 6 hours long. There will be some spoilers so please don't read if you haven't seen the movie or read the book!
This is the story of the author's experience in hiking the Appalachian Trail. He and his family moved back to the US after many years living in England. Since he lived in New England the trail wasn't far and decided to go on this journey for a number of reasons. During his preparations he learned about the dangers on the trail, and was reluctant to go on it alone. He managed to interested an old friend that he hasn't talked to in years, Stephen Katz. Since he was the only one that was interested, Bryson welcomed him. Katz wasn't the most ideal hiking partner and caused Bryson some trouble, but the hike can bring out the worst and best of a person.
The book does tell you about the history of the mountain and some other interesting information. Unlike his other history books, this does have a bit of swearing. The duo meets some strange people and learn about the hiking culture. The first half of the book is of the two season long hike up the trail from Georgia. The second half is the summer and autumn time when the two had to go separate ways for a bit.
I saw some reviews that didn't like the second half, and even think Bryson was mean or offensive towards the park service. I didn't get that impression at all. Sure the second half isn't as interesting since Bryson was hiking alone during the summer, but it was crucial to learn about himself and even Katz. Though I was listening to the audiobook, I'm not entirely sure if anything was taken out from the text. The book is published in 1998 so something might be out of date.
I finally got to see the movie now that the DVD is out, and its nearly 2 hours long. Its definitely a decent movie for a story about two old men hiking the trail. Its has key scenes from the book as well as some original stuff which isn't too bad. The nature scenes are really stunning. Its a rather relaxing and fun movie.Would recommend it!
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