A Road More or Less Traveled: Madcap Adventures Along the Appalachian Trail

by Stephen Otis, Colin Roberts, Ben Brezina (Editor)

A doom prophet wanders through the woods announcing the end of the world. A 300-pounf hiker drop half his body weight because all he can afford is oatmeal. A dysentery-infected Mormon tries to steal a dog from a private detective. A stoic woodsman smacks a bear across the snout with a flaming brand. Two hikers wander into a hyper religious commune in upstate New York and find out where all the soap in the world is made. A Road More or Less Traveled is the strange but true tale of two men who set out to hike the Appalachian Trail, America's most heralded footpath, extending over two thousand miles from Maine to Georgia. Along the way, they find uncouth beauty, collide head-on with America's churning technocracy, and battle through a faith in the ruins. Road is a story filled with adventure, absurdity, laugh-out-loud humor and gnarly soul searching. You should read it.

Genres: Nonfiction

360 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Terrell Garren]

I was expecting to read about hiking the AT. Unfortunately, the book is 1/3 about hiking the AT, 1/3 uninteresting side trips that Futureman and Applejack take while hiking and 1/3 random quotes, poems and anecdotes. I did not find it very interesting or humorous. If I were not so stubborn, I should have stopped reading before they ever left Maine.

[Tim Chavel]

This book is about two friends who hiked the Appalachian Trail (AT). They started in Maine and hiked to the end of the trail in Georgia. The book was a lot less than I expected. It was more about the "good times" off the trail than about the trail itself. However, I did learn some "new" things. Such as, most that hike the trail give themselves nicknames. The names the authors chose were "Futureman" and "Applejack." Also, the ones that hike the entire AT are called thruhikers. The authors sometimes use rough language (curse words) and some of the conversation was unacceptable. I really liked the map at the beginning each chapter. It was a map of the trail that highlighted the state that the authors were hiking at the time. The Appalachian Trail is one of the longest continuously marked footpath in the world, measuring roughly 2,180 miles in length. The Trail goes through fourteen states along the crests and valleys of the Appalachian mountain range from the southern terminus at Springer Mountain, Georgia, to the Trail’s northern terminus at Katahdin, Maine. The following states are part of the AT: Maine,New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee (the authors home state), North Carolina, and Georgia. This book really makes me want to hike the trail. I would not reread this book and do not recommend it. It takes months (average about six months) to go the distance. I've included a few links below that I found interesting.

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/about...

http://www.fred.net/kathy/at.html

http://rhodesmill.org/thefox/maps.html

http://www.fred.net/kathy/at/atstate....

http://www.atmuseum.org/intro.htm

[Kris Holland]

There were several funny stories in this book, but I would not recommend it to someone who is looking for an Appalachian Trail tale. These two guys did hike the AT, but the book gets very religious and kind of weird in places. I also didn't really want to read about them sitting around for a couple days watching movies in a hotel room, or sitting around an apartment in NYC watching TV for days; I wanted to read about HIKING, and the things they see & people they meet. And again, it seemed like there was A LOT of religion. I really struggled to finish. Just a different sort of AT book, not really my cup of tea, though.

[Andrew]

A wonderful and hilarious tale of the AT with soul seeking questions, beautiful imagery, and interesting snippets of history thrown in for good measure. Though a little non-linear at times, a wonderful read!

[Chelsey]

This book was like a long, weird, fun journey...but it killed me not to be able to put the book down and go hike!

[Jacob Runyon]

Madcap: behaving in a reckless, impulsive, or eccentric way, often silly or amusing rather than dangerous.

If you are looking for something informational, keep searching. This had to be the most random book I’ve ever read. It is informational, humorous, descriptive, religious, irreligious, epic, random, goofy, theological, historical, and fictional all rolled into one account of a south bound journey in the AT. I enjoyed it, though NYC took way too long, especially considering it’s not part of the trail, but I probably would have stopped reading it if I wasn’t on vacation. In the end, it was great for mindless reading and relaxing in the mountain cabin drinking coffee, tea, wine, beer, and whiskey all day. But don’t read if you are looking for inspiration or insight.

[Alexis Clemens]

It's odd, not terrible. Still looking for a good trail journal after this and Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods. My major hangup, honestly, is the editing. There are more misspellings than I'd expect from something someone actually put into print, it's like a book I'd get for free on Kindle as far as the editing is concerned. And the third person perspective actually manages to be somewhat distracting--I don't think the perspective in which a book was written has ever been distracting before but they managed. Semantically problematic, I think the introspection into a higher power is interesting, and likely most people's thoughts are in fact as jumbled as depicted in introspective sections.

[Gennaro]

really good, poetic, interesting, funny, made me want to hike the AT.

[Jamie Morris]

Poetic, but not my personal style. I got a little lost at some points trying to understand the message. Maybe that’s the journey of a thru-hike 🤪

[Mike Capps]

Whimsical, humorous, sometimes poignant, mostly goofy account of the authors' adventures (many misadventures) hiking the AT. Sometimes gets a little bogged down with senseless musings but this only adds to the zaniness of the characters, Otis Stephen and Colin Roberts (trail names Futureman and Applejack respectively).
All in all a fun read especially for anyone who has spent time on the AT or backpacking in general.

[Stephen]

Read it knowing it is more like gonzo journalism than traditional travelogue and I think most will find it a pleasant journey outside the norm.

I was particularly fond of the expose into the NYC art world, which may be the most revealing, honest look at the art world from an outside perspective I have seen in a long time.

[John]

This book was really, really good! I was actually sad when I finished it! I would recommend this book...it's a postmodern book so it is somewhat strange at times. But it was great and I highly recommend it.

[Rebecca McNeill]

Hilarious and adventure inducing account of 2 guys who thru hiked the AT. Their stories and writing style vary often in the book, and it makes you want to go lace up your hiking boots and hit the trail.

[Kevin]

This was a cool book. Hard to describe, but a great selection of tales for the travels down the trail. These guys were interesting. It's not really about hiking the trail, but more an internal dialogue of these two hikers.

[Courtney Brown]

I'd give it a 3.5. Some parts I loved, and some were just a little bit wordy for me. Definitely inspiring, though it does take some odd religious turns at times.

[Sarah]

More about the journey than the path the men walked.