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[at-l] quiet here now



At 02:33 PM 1/15/2005 -0500, Bror8588@aol.com wrote:
>In a message dated 1/15/05 12:48:34 Eastern Standard Time, rposey1@cfl.rr.com
>writes:
>
> > It sure is quiet with all the folks at the Southern RUCK this weekend.
> > Guess we know who does most of the posting.
> >
>There was a lot of anticipation regarding the food and who's who list and not
>a whole lot about hiking.  It was all trail related in that there will be a
>lot of encouragement and rejuvenation among those who attend and they will 
>come
>back with enthusiasm.  The PA RUCK has been relatively quiet in their
>preparation.  Perhaps they have it together or are hiking in preparation 
>for their
>RUCK.
>
>Speaking of hiking; this weather does not invite walking in the woods or on
>Ridgetops so it is a good time to read and get ready for the Spring hikes.

And speaking of reading, I have been busy lately working on my AT Book 
Review project that I was going to get done last fall but got side-tracked. 
I have a substantial (and growing) collection of AT books and plan to post 
reviews of all of them which will be posted to a special section of my web 
site. I have 23 written so far with another 22 to go (probably more before 
I get through those 22). Some of these I read so long ago I ma rereading 
them in order to write a fair review. My idea is to provide a guide for 
newcomers to the genre for deciding where to start among the books 
available. I will also throw in links to better permanently (as permanent 
as the web gets) on-line journals and sites where current thru-hikers post 
their journals.

If AT-L members like the idea I will post some of the reviews I have 
already written, one at a time of course. For a sample I will include one 
below:
LONG DISTANCE HIKING
Lessons from the Appalachian Trail
by Roland Mueser ? 1998
IBSN 0-07-044458-7

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1       The Thru-hiking Tradition
Chapter 2       Why Thru-hike?
Chapter 3       Who Hikes with Whom
Chapter 4       Older Hikers
Chapter 5       Physical Condition and Injuries
Chapter 6       Trail Names
Chapter 7       Footwear
Chapter 8       Packs, Tents, Stoves and Guides
Chapter 9       Sleeping on the Trail
Chapter 10      Clothing and Raingear
Chapter 11      Comforts and Amenities
Chapter 12      How Fast, How Far
Chapter 13      Water: Its Joys and Perils
Chapter 14      Food Calories and Weight
Chapter 15      Animals on tthe Trail
Chapter 16      Insects and Repelling Them
Chapter 17      Along the Trail
Chapter 18      Trail People
Chapter 19      Looking Back
Appendix 1      The Questionnaire and its Statistics
Appendix 2      Questionnaire Summaries
Appendix 3      Survey participants
                 Bibliography
                 Index

Roland?s book is unique. When doing his thru-hike of the Trail, he 
conducted a structured survey of other hikers he met along the way. The 
book is (among other things) a compilation of the data he collected from 
hikers he met. It can be argued that it wasn?t a very scientific sample but 
Roland was an engineer by trade, not a statistician so I?m willing to cut 
him some slack on that. The approach is interesting.

As can be seen from the TOC, one can pick up the book and get 
information/advice on any given aspect of thru-hiking by simply turning to 
the appropriate chapter. If you want to zero-in further there is a full 
index.  Two pages of bibliography (Roland must read even more than I do) 
give lots of other sources for hiking advice. A bit of trail history is 
included in the text as well and bits about the author?s thru-hike, but the 
emphasis is on the data he collected. Despite the statistical approach it 
is easy and pleasant to read.

Rating: 7 M&Ms
Sources:
         ATC Trailstore  <http://www.atctrailstore.org/>
         Amazon
         Alibris