The Blue Ridge Parkway by Foot: A Park Ranger's Memoir

by Tim Pegram

One of the premier tourist attractions of the eastern United States, the Blue Ridge Parkway stretches from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in western North Carolina. This volume relates the author's one-of-a-kind backpacking trip along the 469-mile road, along with his observations and recollections regarding the Parkway, the most visited unit of the National Park Service. Beginning with his experience as a summer college intern, the book also covers the twelve years he spent working as a ranger on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Anecdotal history and accounts from some of the Parkway's earliest rangers complete this tale of one of our country's national treasures. The appendix contains a chronological, mile-by-mile re-creation of Pegram's 2003 trek, including the names of all the Parkway landmarks mentioned in the book.

324 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in anticipation of an upcoming trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Perhaps not the most well-written memoir, but the funny and interesting anecdotes told by this ranger who decides to walk the Blue Ridge Parkway after retiring from patrolling it make up for that. I wish I could have heard the ranger tell these stories out loud.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Significantly richer than the title would suggest. This is essentially a Park Ranger’s memoir, organized as a travelogue. Pegram has a wonderfully dry sense of humor and a unique author’s voice. I got much more than I expected and enjoyed every minute.

[Linda Frances · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting subject, but poorly written.

[Jared · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book as I was looking in the library for hiking books. It was a pretty good read and interesting. The author would intersperse current happenings on the trail with memories which that section of the hike might have conjured. It was neat to read about what a park ranger's life is like. The one thing I didn't like is that he ver often will comment on something with a metaphor. Sometimes I had no idea what he meant or how it related, so that was a little annoying. Overall, though, this was enjoyable and I wish I had a piece of paper to write down where he mentions certain springs are, or specific views that were just great, etc. Maybe I'll breeze through it again just to find those passages.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author, native to the Triad, grew up next to Hanging Rock State Park and knew from an early age he wanted to be a park ranger. This book is a biographical account of his experiences as a ranger on the parkway for 12 years, and his month-long hike of the 469-mile route upon his retirement in 2003. Lots of local history and interesting anecdotes about the Parkway.