Walking on the Wild Side: Long-Distance Hiking on the Appalachian Trail Contributor(s): Fondren, Kristi M. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0813571898 ISBN-13: 9780813571898 Publisher: Rutgers University Press OUR PRICE: $148.50 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: December 2015 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Sports & Recreation | Sociology Of Sports - Sports & Recreation | Hiking - Travel | Special Interest - Hikes & Walks |
Dewey: 796.510 |
LCCN: 2015004956 |
Physical Information: 0.5" H x 6" W x 9" (0.84 lbs) 176 pages |
Themes: - Cultural Region - Appalachians |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Received the 2016 Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Award for Excellence in Recreation and Park Research from the National Recreation and Park Association The most famous long-distance hiking trail in North America, the 2,181-mile Appalachian Trail--the longest hiking-only footpath in the world--runs along the Appalachian mountain range from Georgia to Maine. Every year about 2,000 individuals attempt to "thru-hike" the entire trail, a feat equivalent to hiking Mount Everest sixteen times. In Walking on the Wild Side, sociologist Kristi M. Fondren traces the stories of forty-six men and women who, for their own personal reasons, set out to conquer America's most well known, and arguably most social, long-distance hiking trail. In this fascinating in-depth study, Fondren shows how, once out on the trail, this unique subculture of hikers lives mostly in isolation, with their own way of acting, talking, and thinking; their own vocabulary; their own activities and interests; and their own conception of what is significant in life. They tend to be self-disciplined, have an unwavering trust in complete strangers, embrace a life of poverty, and reject modern-day institutions. The volume illuminates the intense social intimacy and bonding that forms among long-distance hikers as they collectively construct a long-distance hiker identity. Fondren describes how long-distance hikers develop a trail persona, underscoring how important a sense of place can be to our identity, and to our sense of who we are. Indeed, the author adds a new dimension to our understanding of the nature of identity in general. Anyone who has hiked--or has ever dreamed of hiking--the Appalachian Trail will find this volume fascinating. Walking on the Wild Side captures a community for whom the trail is a sacred place, a place to which they have become attached, socially, emotionally, and spiritually. |