Post B

Bill Bryson's memoir is a journal of his travels through the Appalachian Trail. Having gotten past his departure from civilization onto the Appalachian, I know everything he did, or wanted us to think he did, in preparation for the trail. It somewhat bothers me that he never wrote about practicing with a weighted down pack, or at least hiking without one. Being a backpacker myself, I know the most important thing you can do to prepare yourself for the trail is to get your body ready. In preparation for my own trip to a scouting reservation, I climbed Stone Mountain (Atlanta, Georgia) with a 50 pound backpack for 2 weeks in advance. All seasoned backpackers would consider this necessary for such an endeavor, and some would even think my preparation was not enough. Either Bryson truly did not prepare himself for his hiking tirp over the AT, or he left that part out of his memoir. He may have wanted to make his trip look more hopeless to the reader, or he might have thought that it would make the book to boring. Maybe this simply explains that he is an average middle aged man, and not a seasoned hiker who would know to prepare.

Post A

Vocabulary:
1) milieu [pg. 23]- suroundings especially of a social nature
2) desultory [pg. 80]-digressing from the main subject

Logical/Emotional Appeals:
1) "it is an intoxicating exoerience to taste Coca-Cola as if for the firsttime[...]" (pg. 55) in this sentence "intoxicating" not only means giving one a drunk feeling, but a sense of happiness involved in drinking a soda for the first time since being on the trail. (emotional appeal)
2) "now what kind of straps do you wnat with that[...]" (pg. 10) The salesman at the camping store convinces Bryson that he needs straps for his backpack. He basically tells Bill that if your going bakpacking, your going to need them. (logical appeal)
3) "It'll be hell.' 'Yeah, I know" (pg. 21) In this dialogue, Bryson's wife is not only telling him that the trip will suck, but her use of the word hell also implies the annoyance, agony, and mutual hatred that could arise from bringing his old firend along. (emotional appeal)

Quote:

" 'What did you get rid of?' I asked. 'Heavy f****** s***, that's what. The pepperoni, the rice, the brown sugar, the Spam, I don't know what all. Lots. F***.'[...] He acted like he had been betrayed by the trail." (pg. 39)
-This quote explains how heavy a backpack can get when going backpacking. One's perception of the weight is elevated further by the fatigue induced by such excercise. This brought an irrational result from Bryson's friend, who got rid of almost all their food in his pack.

Emerging Theme:
A theme emerges in Bryson's memoir as the two begin their hike over the AT. The amount of strenuous activity they put into climbing the trail induces irrational behaviors, thoughts, and actions.

I've decided

so, I bought my book today: A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. by Bill Bryson. As a couple of you know, I moved here from Atlanta a month and a half ago. I hiked the AT* a lot. So I'm very excited to see what this guy has to say about it.

Ken

* "AT" short for Appalachian Trail. I'm going to use this shortening frequently in my blogs, so get used to it now

My Blog

Hey guys,

My name's Ken and this is my blog. Right now I am using it for English, so if your looking for my opinion on a book I just read, look no further than my blog. I'm not sure what I'm gonna read yet.

Thanks for reading my blog,
Ken