IRP blog post 6 -media

The Appalachian Trial is approximately 2,181 miles long and it passes through 14 states. The trail stretches from Georgia to Maine. In 1921 the trail was only idea but in 1937 the trail was completed. Each year the trail is rerouted in parts but the majority of the trail remains the same from year to year. The trail passes through 8 national forests and is maintained by 31 different clubs and parterships. Only white paint blazes mark the direction of the trail and some hikers have been known to get lost. Often Bryson complains about the quality of the maps of the trail. Each year about 300 people complete the Appalachian Trail all in one trip but that is a small fraction of people who have that intention when they start.

Dear Che,
I am a daughter of a citizen of Cuba who was killed, because of you. You killed my father in your attempt to end the dictatorship in the country. I have had to grow up without a father in a country that has not yet fully recovered form what you did to it. Our new leader is still a dictator. Living in this country is an obstacle in itself because my opportunities are limited. I basically had to raise myself growing up in this oppressive country. My whole life I have wanted to live in America. It will be a challenge but I am determined to raise my children in a free country. I have faced many hardships and I know I will face more on my quest to America but I am determined to leave this country.
Sincerely, Angry

IRP blog post 5- cited passage

From the beginning of the trip, Bryson's intentions were to hike the whole Appalachian Trail. Even he didn't realize what a feat this would be. While passing through the town of Gatlinburg, they went into a hiking shop to buy new shoelaces for Katz. There was a four feet long map of the Appalachian Trail in the shop. "Of the four feet of trail map before me, reaching approximately from my knees to the top of my head,we had done the bototm two inches...All that we had experienced and done-all the effort and toil, the aches, the damp, the mountains, the horrible stodgy noodles, the blizzards, the dreary evenings with Mary Ellen, the endless, wearying, doggedly accumulated miles- all that came to two inches." p.150
It was hard for the two hikers to put into perspective how long the Appalachain Trial actually was, but this map was a rude awakening. It shocked them how insignificant their trip had been so far. After the initial shock, Byson was liberated by the idea that no one was forcing them to hike the whole trail. They decided that instaed of getting on the trail right where they left off, this time they would drive a bit so after their next hike they would be closer to the town.
This was a big part of the book. It changed their whole plans when the imensity of the trail was put in a tangible form in front of their faces. They realized what some fail to realize, hiking the trail is a choice. Some take it on as burden but really it is just for your own purposes. No one would ever know or care if you skipped some trail here or there or if you just decided that hiking the whole trail wasn't for you. The Appalachian Trail can be just for leisurly hiking, it doesn't have to be a miserable undertaking.

IRP blog post 4 -link

After days of hiking and seeing less than 5 other people, Katz and Bryson are relieved for any type of civiliazation, even if it is Galtinburg Tennessee. The town had been talked about in a book called "The Lost Continent". That gives you a pretty good indictation of the type of town Gatlinburg was. Now it is filled with mini-malls and overpriced burger joints. The town feeds on the touristst that come through the town. (I don't understand who would want to be a tourist in the town unless you were hiking that Appilachian Trail.) It is strange to think that in our modern times there are these small times that have been forgotten so now they sell themselves to the tourists to make the town ugly and fakely industrial.

Gatlinburg Attractions
http://www.gatlinburg.com/things-to-do/attractions/

IRP blog post 3 -video

During the hike Bryson and Katz stop in very small and southern towns. Hiwassee, Georgia was one of them. The towns that Bryson and Katz stop in along the way are extremely small and seem to be out of date. The motels that they stay in are small, questionably clean, and family owned. The town of Hiawasse was no different. Hiawasse is a Cherokee word meaning "meadow". The town survives on hikers and people passing through on the Appalachian Trail. In 2000 the town population was 808.

A little taste of the night life in Hiawasse, Georgia-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fZR3eJu61o

IRP blog post 2 -cited passage

Bryson and Katz both dropped their lives and started hiking the Appalachian Trail. They knew that the next few months of their life would consist of nothing but hiking. Most people would not be willing to put thier lives on hold like they did.
"Life takes on a neat simplicity, too. Time ceases to have any meaning. When it is dark you go to bed, and when it is light again you get up, and everything in between is just in between. Its quite wonderful, really" p.100
While hiking throught the mountains Bryson began to realize he liked having nothing to worry about. Everyday he woke up just to walk as far as he could, then went to bed and did the same thing the next day. He said that the routine they developed was not so bad even though they slept in crude shelters and ate very little. Katz and Bryson went days having only exchanged several words. A lot of thinking must take place while hiking the trail. I wonder if they will return to their lives as changed men.
I chose the quote on page 1000 because it immediatly stuck with me. It made me want to hike the Appalachian Trail one day. The simplicity that he describes seems like a good way to get back in touch with the simple and maybe more important things in life.

IRP blog post 1 -link

Bill Bryson moved into a community right off the Appalachian Trail and he suddenly felt compelled to walk it. He sent out a note to friends and family seeing if any wanted to join him. An old friend Stephan Katz replied and said he like to join. They hadn't talked in years. Just getting to the beginning of the trail took several days. They were told that most people turn back after the first few days because they trail "isn't what they expected," They hoped to not be some of those people. After a few days they found a small, old and not very clean motel but it was refuge from the trail. They were incredibly relieved adn took advantage of the warm water and full meals. After being in the woods for several days it becomes clear all things things you take forgranted.
Unlike our recent theme, their journey does not have a purpose other than completing the Trail so they can say that they have done it.

The official Appilachian trial website
-trail maps
-all about the trail
-volunteer for the AT
-AT apparel
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.mqLTIYOwGlF/b.4850441/k.EFAB/The_Trail.htm

IRB blog post # 1- book and author

A Walk in the Woods
by: Bill Bryson

180 degress south

"Fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of all."
Jeff Johnson recognized that there was no point in being afraid. He went into the world to experience everything because he knew that fear of the unknown is the greatest fear. If you know about the unknown then there is no fear.
This quote applies to my life after high school because right now I am excited but also nervous about going to college. College is a new idea to me, therefore it is unknown.