Bill Bryson: Should He Be Considered an Appalachian Trail Hiker?

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Should Bill Bryson be considered an Appalachian Trail hiker? Most thru hikers believe that the only type of AT hiker is a thru hiker. Critics even talk about how Bryson just hiked a portion of the trail. “[…]-- although he doesn't meet that many, because in the end he hikes less than half the route. The book is subtitled "Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail," but Bryson doesn't seem to have discovered very much at all.” (Friedman, Vanessa V. Book review of A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. June 19, 1998 ) The thru hikers are one sided and narrow minded. Even though critics and thru hikers say Bryson is not a real Appalachian Trail Hiker, he should be considered an AT hiker because he wrote A Walk in the Woods to inform everyone of his devotion to hiking most of the trail. One of Bryson’s main reasons to hike the AT was the fact that he was scared global warming was going to destroy all of the beautiful nature the AT has to offer. Throughout the book Bryson connects with nature. He gets familiar with the woods and becomes a true hiker. Bill would rather be on the trail ...

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