Walking on the Wild Side (eBook)

Long-Distance Hiking on the Appalachian Trail

Kristi M. Fondren (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2015
150 Seiten
Rutgers University Press (Verlag)
978-0-8135-7190-4 (ISBN)

Infos

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 "e;thru-hike"e; 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.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 11.12.2015
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Sport
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Ethnologie
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie ► Mikrosoziologie
• ISBN-10: 0-8135-7190-1 / 0813571901
• ISBN-13: 978-0-8135-7190-4 / 9780813571904