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Walking on the Wild Side: Long-Distance Hiking on the Appalachian Trail
Kristi M. Fondren
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Description for Walking on the Wild Side: Long-Distance Hiking on the Appalachian Trail
Paperback. .
Received the 2016 Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Award for Excellence in Recreation and Park Research from the National Recreation and Park Association
The most famous long-distance hiking trail in North America, the 2,181-mile Appalachian Trail—the longest hiking-only footpath in the world—runs along the Appalachian mountain range from Georgia to Maine. Every year about 2,000 individuals attempt to “thru-hike” the entire trail, a feat equivalent to hiking Mount Everest sixteen times. In Walking on the Wild Side, sociologist Kristi M. Fondren traces the stories of forty-six men and women who, for their own personal reasons, set out to conquer America’s most well known, and arguably most social, long-distance hiking trail.
In this fascinating in-depth study, Fondren shows how, once out on the trail, this unique subculture of hikers lives mostly in isolation, with their own way of acting, talking, and thinking; their own vocabulary; their own activities and interests; and their own conception of what is significant in life. They tend to be self-disciplined, have an unwavering trust in complete strangers, embrace a life of poverty, and reject modern-day institutions. The volume illuminates the intense social intimacy and bonding that forms among long-distance hikers as they collectively construct a long-distance hiker identity. Fondren describes how long-distance hikers develop a trail persona, underscoring how important a sense of place can be to our identity, and to our sense of who we are. Indeed, the author adds a new dimension to our understanding of the nature of identity in general.
Anyone who has hiked—or has ever dreamed of hiking—the Appalachian Trail will find this volume fascinating. Walking on the Wild Side captures a community for whom the trail is a sacred place, a place to which they have become attached, socially, emotionally, and spiritually.
The most famous long-distance hiking trail in North America, the 2,181-mile Appalachian Trail—the longest hiking-only footpath in the world—runs along the Appalachian mountain range from Georgia to Maine. Every year about 2,000 individuals attempt to “thru-hike” the entire trail, a feat equivalent to hiking Mount Everest sixteen times. In Walking on the Wild Side, sociologist Kristi M. Fondren traces the stories of forty-six men and women who, for their own personal reasons, set out to conquer America’s most well known, and arguably most social, long-distance hiking trail.
In this fascinating in-depth study, Fondren shows how, once out on the trail, this unique subculture of hikers lives mostly in isolation, with their own way of acting, talking, and thinking; their own vocabulary; their own activities and interests; and their own conception of what is significant in life. They tend to be self-disciplined, have an unwavering trust in complete strangers, embrace a life of poverty, and reject modern-day institutions. The volume illuminates the intense social intimacy and bonding that forms among long-distance hikers as they collectively construct a long-distance hiker identity. Fondren describes how long-distance hikers develop a trail persona, underscoring how important a sense of place can be to our identity, and to our sense of who we are. Indeed, the author adds a new dimension to our understanding of the nature of identity in general.
Anyone who has hiked—or has ever dreamed of hiking—the Appalachian Trail will find this volume fascinating. Walking on the Wild Side captures a community for whom the trail is a sacred place, a place to which they have become attached, socially, emotionally, and spiritually.
Product Details
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2015
Publisher
Rutgers University Press
Condition
New
Number of Pages
176
Place of Publication
New Brunswick NJ, United States
ISBN
9780813571881
SKU
V9780813571881
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 7 to 11 working days
Ref
99-50
About Kristi M. Fondren
KRISTI M. FONDREN is an associate professor of sociology at Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia.
Reviews for Walking on the Wild Side: Long-Distance Hiking on the Appalachian Trail
“Well-written, accessible, and succinct, Kristi Fondren’s Walking on the Wild Side tells the interesting story of the Appalachian Trail. Upon finishing a chapter, the reader is anxious to move onto the next one.”
Alan Graefe
professor of recreation, park, and tourism management at Penn State University
"Fondren takes readers on the most memorable of journeys. She portrays hikers braving both environmental and social elements, and, with remarkable sensitivity, she reveals that they are not so different than the rest of us. The Appalachian Trail is a microcosm of American society, and a fascinating one at that."
John P. Bartkowski
University of Texas at San Antonio
"Though the book's aims are primarily scholarly, its brevity and approachable colloquial style make it accessible for students and lay readers."
Library Journal
"If you dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail this book should be on your bedside table."
Hike Bike Travel
"Succinct, clear, and captivating … an excellent contribution to the reading lists of hiking enthusiasts, leisure and recreation managers, and sport studies scholars interested in nature and the environment."
Sport in American History
“Well-written, accessible, and succinct, Kristi Fondren’s Walking on the Wild Side tells the interesting story of the Appalachian Trail. Upon finishing a chapter, the reader is anxious to move onto the next one.”
Alan Graefe
professor of recreation, park, and tourism management at Penn State University
"Fondren takes readers on the most memorable of journeys. She portrays hikers braving both environmental and social elements, and, with remarkable sensitivity, she reveals that they are not so different than the rest of us. The Appalachian Trail is a microcosm of American society, and a fascinating one at that."
John P. Bartkowski
University of Texas at San Antonio
"Though the book's aims are primarily scholarly, its brevity and approachable colloquial style make it accessible for students and lay readers."
Library Journal
"If you dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail this book should be on your bedside table."
Hike Bike Travel
"Succinct, clear, and captivating … an excellent contribution to the reading lists of hiking enthusiasts, leisure and recreation managers, and sport studies scholars interested in nature and the environment."
Sport in American History
Alan Graefe
professor of recreation, park, and tourism management at Penn State University
"Fondren takes readers on the most memorable of journeys. She portrays hikers braving both environmental and social elements, and, with remarkable sensitivity, she reveals that they are not so different than the rest of us. The Appalachian Trail is a microcosm of American society, and a fascinating one at that."
John P. Bartkowski
University of Texas at San Antonio
"Though the book's aims are primarily scholarly, its brevity and approachable colloquial style make it accessible for students and lay readers."
Library Journal
"If you dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail this book should be on your bedside table."
Hike Bike Travel
"Succinct, clear, and captivating … an excellent contribution to the reading lists of hiking enthusiasts, leisure and recreation managers, and sport studies scholars interested in nature and the environment."
Sport in American History
“Well-written, accessible, and succinct, Kristi Fondren’s Walking on the Wild Side tells the interesting story of the Appalachian Trail. Upon finishing a chapter, the reader is anxious to move onto the next one.”
Alan Graefe
professor of recreation, park, and tourism management at Penn State University
"Fondren takes readers on the most memorable of journeys. She portrays hikers braving both environmental and social elements, and, with remarkable sensitivity, she reveals that they are not so different than the rest of us. The Appalachian Trail is a microcosm of American society, and a fascinating one at that."
John P. Bartkowski
University of Texas at San Antonio
"Though the book's aims are primarily scholarly, its brevity and approachable colloquial style make it accessible for students and lay readers."
Library Journal
"If you dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail this book should be on your bedside table."
Hike Bike Travel
"Succinct, clear, and captivating … an excellent contribution to the reading lists of hiking enthusiasts, leisure and recreation managers, and sport studies scholars interested in nature and the environment."
Sport in American History