White Blaze Fever

Rating:
Summary: White Blaze Fever
Review: For the first time, I think I understand what it's like to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. This is a day by day journal of Bill (Mountain Slayer) Schuette's thru-hike in 2000. - 2167 miles from March 28th to August 28th, at the age of 51. Bill is a retired high school principal, who was hooked by the thru-hiking bug, when he and his wife were checking into a lodge and saw a thru-hiker stagger in, dirty, smelly, exhausted.

White Blaze Fever gets its name from the white blazes used to mark the route of the AT. The regional trails usually have blue blazes, and work their way reasonably around a mountain. the AT with its white blazes, goes over the top.

Every three to five pages, there is an italicized paragraph or two inserted, with various hiker tips for doing the trail. This gives the reader a useful break - read the tip, then back on the trail again.

By the time you reach the end of the book, you will have a good sense of what equipment works and doesn't work, and what you are getting into. This book makes you realize that this is very much a group experience. Shelter conversations, stories referring to hikers by their trailnames, shared misery and triumphs pay a large part in this book. You also learn something about the terrain, and a small dose of history.

I strongly recommend reading this if you have any intention of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. Try to read it several months before you go.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling nitty gritty of an Appalachian Trail thru-hike
Review: For the first time, I think I understand what it's like to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. This is a day by day journal of Bill (Mountain Slayer) Schuette's thru-hike in 2000. - 2167 miles from March 28th to August 28th, at the age of 51. Bill is a retired high school principal, who was hooked by the thru-hiking bug, when he and his wife were checking into a lodge and saw a thru-hiker stagger in, dirty, smelly, exhausted.

White Blaze Fever gets its name from the white blazes used to mark the route of the AT. The regional trails usually have blue blazes, and work their way reasonably around a mountain. the AT with its white blazes, goes over the top.

Every three to five pages, there is an italicized paragraph or two inserted, with various hiker tips for doing the trail. This gives the reader a useful break - read the tip, then back on the trail again.

By the time you reach the end of the book, you will have a good sense of what equipment works and doesn't work, and what you are getting into. This book makes you realize that this is very much a group experience. Shelter conversations, stories referring to hikers by their trailnames, shared misery and triumphs pay a large part in this book. You also learn something about the terrain, and a small dose of history.

I strongly recommend reading this if you have any intention of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. Try to read it several months before you go.

Rating:
Summary: White Blaze Fever
Review: I found this book really interesting. I felt I was right there with the author walking the trail. That's the only way some of us would be able to do it. It was so well written that I could hear the mosquitoes buzzing and feel the rain falling. I could see the beautiful views of the sun as it rose or set over the mountains. Once you start reading it you don't want to put it down.

Rating:
Summary: Great for the armchair AT enthusiast
Review: I have been an armchair AT enthusiast for years and have read most of the AT books out there. This is definitely a journal of almost every day Bill Schuette has on the AT. This is a nuts and bolts type of story, telling you about almost every part if the trail and what it takes and what it's like to do it. I have read books that generalize large parts of the trail and spend more time on the spiritual, philosophical part of why they are doing the trail but this is not it. I think I enjoyed this as much as others is I got to hear about parts of the trail that most books seem to skip and it is a timely account from the year 2000. Another is he finishes the trail unlike Bill Bryson's fractional account, "A Walk in the Woods"

I recommend Mic Lowther's book, "Walking North" for a nice combination of trail accountability and philosophy.



Rating:
Summary: I thought the book read more like a trail journal...
Review: I've read a number of AT hiking books. Although I enjoyed this book, I thought it was too much like a trail journal. Basically, each day's activities are logged in a somewhat detailed manner. Unlike some of the other AT books that I've read, I don't feel like learned much about the author other than the obvious external facts---he's a 51 year old retired principal that enjoys hiking.

That being said, I still enjoyed the book and thought the hiker tips were helpful. I plan to reference these tips if I should ever attempt a thru-hike in the future.

Rating:
Summary: I thought the book read more like a trail journal...
Review: I've read a number of AT hiking books. Although I enjoyed this book, I thought it was too much like a trail journal. Basically, each day's activities are logged in a somewhat detailed manner. Unlike some of the other AT books that I've read, I don't feel like learned much about the author other than the obvious external facts---he's a 51 year old retired principal that enjoys hiking.

That being said, I still enjoyed the book and thought the hiker tips were helpful. I plan to reference these tips if I should ever attempt a thru-hike in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Fever inducer
Review: If you're looking for an AT narrative like Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, this book is not for you. Like other reviewers have noted it is written in much more of a daily journal style. That said, it is much more informative about the AT, stops along the way, gear that worked and gear that didn't. Schuette's mantra seems to be reduce pack weight whenever possible and his tips at doing that are excellent! Does a very good job at not romanticizing parts of the hike that were not pleasant. I got a great picture of him waking up and putting on wet clothes on several occasions and it read as miserable as it must have been. At the end of the book, my own fever to hike the AT is still running rampant and I feel much better prepared having read Mountain Slayer's account.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous read
Review: This is a great book for anyone who has actually thru hiked the AT, section hiked it, or is just a vicarious AT hiker. I read this book in one sitting over several hours. I simply couldn't put it down. I've read over thirty books on thru hiking the AT and this is one of the best accounts yet. Schuette himself is a thru hiker and his narrative of his own experiences is fascinating. It's truly a great exploration of what goes into the heart, mind, and body of this hiker who made the pilgrimage.

Schuette arranges the information neatly by chapter. There are sections on animals, bugs, food, physical preparation and other things necessary to know before embarking on the trail. The narrative flows by smoothly and I was sad as I approached the end of the book because it was so immensely enjoyable. I would recommend this book highly for everyone who dreams of hiking the AT or those have already completed the journey. This is a wonderful and interesting addition to your AT library.