A Journey of Friendship : A Thru-Hike on the Appalachian Trail

Rating:
Summary: Quite a disappointment
Review: I bought this book because I am planning a thru hike of the AT in the next few years. Though the book started off well enough, it quickly disintegrated into a 150 page treatise on whining. The format of the book is also awful: two hikers made the trek (Trail names were Midnight and Out of Africa), but unfortunately, Midnight hogs 90% of the narrative. This becomes increasingly stressful to the reader because Midnight is the most whining, complaining and unlikable character I have ever encountered in any other AT narrative. Out of Africa, on the other hand, is immensely likeable, gritty, real and determined. I wanted to get to know her better because she had grest soul and verve. Yet she only narrates a tiny fraction of the book and is never more than a shadow participant. Her writing ability is leagues above Midnight's, but she was seldom seen within in the pages of this book. What a pity.

The differences in their personalities mirrors the differences in their writing styles. Midnight is terribly uninteresting and complains about the slick, wet rocks on the trail on every single page. It almost becomes ludicrous as the reader chuckles to themselves, "Alright, how many sentences on this page before the obligatory complaints about the slippery wet rocks?" Sure enough, every page contains repetitive and extremely boring, whining tantrums about how she cried every time she encountered a wet rock, how she slipped, fell, whined, etc. Enough already! Don't attempt the Appalachian trail thinking it will be a meandering stroll in the woods.

In addition, Midnight litters the book with religious sentiments, which were unappreciated. Incredibly, her miraculous parents follow her around in a van, stopping to re-supply her at many stops through the first 1400 miles of her journey. This is an unheard-of luxury for thru hikers, and though Midnight is appreciative, her whining never lets up. The minute her parent leave, yet another wet rock causes her to experience agonies of self-doubt and the reader is forced to skip increasing amount of text to avoid this maudlin self-absorption.

Out of Africa is a trooper, and never complains about conditions. She grins and bears it, but we hear so little from her that ultimately, the book because a frustrating experience of dealing with a childish whiner, Miss Midnight. I would heartily recommend this book had Out of Africa been the sole author, but with the inclusion of Midnight's droning, this is better avoided. If you are seriously planning an AT thru hike, purchase instead Jim Coplen's "Wild Birds Song," available on Amazon. That is a mature, sober and very readable alternative to this girlish drivel.

Rating:
Summary: A story of true grit
Review: I have been hiking for over 6 years and I am very familiar with the Appalachian Trail, very often hiking parts of it.
This book seems to be written in a "stream of consciousness" style on the part of Melody Blaney. This is not a slick tale of how she and "Out of Africa" braved the trail without any great concerns and tribulations.
Melody writes as if she was in a confessional booth, and she is confessing to us her wonderful trek. It's true that she complains a lot, she had trouble with her ankles, her eye glasses, her self-esteem and was always full of doubts whether or not she would be able to finish the grueling trail. She talks about her reasons for doing the hike, mostly spiritual reasons; these reasons are important in that they will tell the reader (who may be going through similar self-doubts)"you are not alone, I have been there also and, If I can do it, you can, too"
This is not a primer on gear needed, food necessities along the way or a list of the best and worst shelters found in the A.T. If a reader is looking for that information, it can be found in a score of other books published in the past 15 years. However, if you want to know what's going on in the mind, and what's happening to your body and your psyche as you hike this life-changing trail, then, this is the book for you. The only complaint I have is that the book's publisher cut back on the quality of the binding to a point where the book literally began falling apart as I was nearing the last third of it.

Rating:
Summary: A great story of trail friendship
Review: This book is a great story of the hiking community and the bond of friendship. The two women met on the trail and supported each other through over 2,150 miles of grueling conditions. Anyone who's hiked even a portion of the Appalachian Trail knows that it's not always easy; dealing with seemingly endless rain, rocks, and other obstacles can really wear you down as the months of hiking continue. The authors show how their friendship helped them through the tough times, and also lightened the good times on the trail. As someone who got off the trail in Maine after becoming injured, I have the utmost respect for both of them for completing the entire hike.