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Ambling and Scrambling on the Appalachian Trail
Book by Flack, James, Flack, Hertha
235 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 19, 2025
What a treat this book was! After hiking some short sections of the AT last spring, I’ve had a fascination with the trail, its history, the people who decide to hike it, and their stories. This book is a wonderful look into the lives of a couple who in their 60s, decided to tackle the entirety of the AT by section hiking it - and all in the 1970s and 1980s! I am beginning to fall in love with the idea of section hiking the AT, and this book only solidified more my desire to get out there.
One of my favorite parts of their story is in one of Hertha’s many letters written to her family while on the trail. In this one she recounts their time hiking in Carrabasset Valley in Maine, where AT hikers go over the Bigelow Mt. Range. In the early spring of 2022, a couple of friends and I decided to hike Avery Peak, which is part of the range. Near the top, after hours of hiking and scrambling up snowy and icy terrain, boots soaked and hands freezing, my friends justifiably decided going on farther was past their limit. I on the other hand would have sooner chucked myself off the ridge-line than get this far without bagging the peak. So with permission from my friends, I trudged on while they began their trek back. That last half mile up the peak was and still is one of my favorite memories of hiking. It was the first time I’d ever really “solo-hiked” a part of a difficult and unfamiliar peak. It felt amazing, and I’ve been chasing the feeling ever since. So reading this section of the book where they recount their experience hiking the Bigelow Range gave me a feeling of connection with James and Hertha, which is silly, I know. But something about knowing I was standing on the same peak as these two just a mere 40 years apart is special!
One of my favorite parts of their story is in one of Hertha’s many letters written to her family while on the trail. In this one she recounts their time hiking in Carrabasset Valley in Maine, where AT hikers go over the Bigelow Mt. Range. In the early spring of 2022, a couple of friends and I decided to hike Avery Peak, which is part of the range. Near the top, after hours of hiking and scrambling up snowy and icy terrain, boots soaked and hands freezing, my friends justifiably decided going on farther was past their limit. I on the other hand would have sooner chucked myself off the ridge-line than get this far without bagging the peak. So with permission from my friends, I trudged on while they began their trek back. That last half mile up the peak was and still is one of my favorite memories of hiking. It was the first time I’d ever really “solo-hiked” a part of a difficult and unfamiliar peak. It felt amazing, and I’ve been chasing the feeling ever since. So reading this section of the book where they recount their experience hiking the Bigelow Range gave me a feeling of connection with James and Hertha, which is silly, I know. But something about knowing I was standing on the same peak as these two just a mere 40 years apart is special!
October 12, 2026
Such a fun read, a little different than some of the other books about the AT. Maybe some of it is that they completed the trail but they weren’t “thru” hikers, meaning they didn’t complete it all in one go. They weren’t super-athletes, they were’t pushing insane miles. They were just ordinary people enjoying hiking leisurely, which I can identify more with. So much of the trail community today is full of ego and bragging, and this was a refreshing counter to that.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews