Walking on the Wild Side - Long-Distance Hiking on the Appalachian Trail (Hardcover)

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.

General

Imprint:	Rutgers University Press
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	December 2015
Authors:	Kristi M. Fondren
Dimensions:	229 x 152 x 13mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover - Cloth over boards
Pages:	176
ISBN-13:	978-0-8135-7189-8
Categories:	Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social institutions > Leisure Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Active outdoor pursuits > Walking, hiking, trekking Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Anthropology > Social & cultural anthropology > General Promotions
LSN:	0-8135-7189-8
Barcode:	9780813571898

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