The Appalachian Trail: Onward to Katahdin

Rating:
Summary: A successful conclusion.
Review: A fitting conclusion to the trek started in Curran's earlier book The Appalachian Trail: A Journey of Discovery. He not only clearly explains the trials of life on the trail but also probes deeper thoughts with which many long distance hikers flirt during long hours of solitude. I could feel the almost daily highs and lows that reward and plague thru-hikers. There is no "sugar coating" and no boasting, he just tells it like it is, both physically and emotionally.
Informatative and easy reading, it is a more realistic view of hiking the Appalachian Trail than a bestseller.

Rating:
Summary: A successful conclusion.
Review: A fitting conclusion to the trek started in Curran's earlier book The Appalachian Trail: A Journey of Discovery. He not only clearly explains the trials of life on the trail but also probes deeper thoughts with which many long distance hikers flirt during long hours of solitude. I could feel the almost daily highs and lows that reward and plague thru-hikers. There is no "sugar coating" and no boasting, he just tells it like it is, both physically and emotionally.
Informatative and easy reading, it is a more realistic view of hiking the Appalachian Trail than a bestseller.

Rating:
Summary: Motivated to Finish the AT
Review: I found this book inspiring and it has motivated me to
complete the AT. Like the author and thousands of others I could not finish the AT the year I started. Circumstances ruled out the following year and it just drifted off my list of priorities. I am now excited about getting back on the Trail; Thank You Jan Curran.

Rating:
Summary: Motivated to Finish the AT
Review: I found this book inspiring and it has motivated me to
complete the AT. Like the author and thousands of others I could not finish the AT the year I started. Circumstances ruled out the following year and it just drifted off my list of priorities. I am now excited about getting back on the Trail; Thank You Jan Curran.

Rating:
Summary: Different than his first book
Review: Jan Curran's first book on the trail: "The Appalachian Trail - A Journey of Discovery" covered Jan's reasons for hiking the trail and does an excellent job of describing the daily life and trial of hiking the Appalachian Trail. This book however gets very involved in the spiritual aspects of his journey and continues to prosylitize when you just want him to get back to the trail. I ended up skimming parts of the book after becoming annoyed with it. If you are having a spiritual crisis and want to hike the trail, this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: Just as bad...
Review: Just more of the same on this book. It is just a continuation of his first book, and I found it to be a bit boring. Not recommended by me.

Rating:
Summary: Just as bad...
Review: Just more of the same on this book. It is just a continuation of his first book, and I found it to be a bit boring. Not recommended by me.

Rating:
Summary: Oh, woe is me!
Review: The author showed a tendancy for too much self-pity in his first book (based on the first half of his AT hike), but in this one he lies down in the middle of the trail and wallows in it. Curran approaches things in a way that is rational, carefully thought out, even scientific. The essence of this book is his efforts to apply this method to figuring out his relationship with God. It's a bit like trying to paint a cloud.
For those interested in the actual hiking itself, Curran comes off as a bit too harsh in his judgments of people and businesses he encounters along the way. His comments hint that he often doesn't feel properly respected or treated. I wonder if it has something to do with his being a retired Army colonel, and if he realizes that the world doesn't know or even care about that.
Not enough real substance here for my taste.