A Short Book Review

As promised, I am going to attempt a book review.  As an English major in college I was forced to read a lot of books.  One semester my senior year I recall reading over 25 books and wrote papers on quite a few of them.  Call it "book review burnout" I suppose, as have not written about a book since.  So, with trepidation I am now attempting this again.  The upside is that it will not be graded, though I suppose you are welcome to do so in the comments and a big plus is that it is not being written on an electric typewriter without a correction feature.  Another benefit is spell check as college papers back in the day required no misspelled (ran this one through spell checker) words and would earn you some deductions if you goofed.

"Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail"

Having just watched "Wild" at the movies, the story of a woman who solo hiked the Pacific Coast Trail, it seemed a natural segue to read this book.  Grandma Gatewood accomplished her historic walk 64 years ago at a time when hiking was not popular and R.E.I. had not sold their first hiking boot.  When I compare the equipment Cheryl Strayed utilized on her hike with Emma Gatewood's it truly amazes me.  Grandma Gatewood's "equipment" consisted of Keds sneakers, a hand sewn bag slung over her shoulder to carry food, clothing, army blanket, shower curtain and a walking stick.  No fancy propane cooking stoves, backpacks, tents or expensive hiking boots.  Just a 67 year old woman out for a stroll on a lark.

Her motivation for her hike seems both simple and complex.  She was a divorced farm wife survivor of domestic violence (her husband killed two men) with 11 kids who was fiercely independent.  It was not unusual for her to disappear for weeks at a time and her children did not seem to be concerned.  I compare that with our communication today with kids and am pretty sure an APB would be issued if either my wife or I went missing for more than a day.  So, taking off for a long walk of 2,168 miles over rough terrain with basically no one aware of your plans seems a little eccentric and dangerous. Did I mention she was 67 years old?  She was walking for both the challenge and seeking peace in her heart.

While clearly independent, she actually seems to "rely on the kindness of strangers" a whole lot.  The book details the many folks who let her sleep at their houses, made her meals, gave her a ride to town, etc.  Clearly, she could not have made the trip without help at critical times.  That does not detract from her accomplishment.  At the time of her walk, the Appalachian Trail had only been solo completed by only a few people and was not nearly as well marked or cleared as it is today.  While she begins the hike oblivious to any historical precedence, eventually the news media catches up with her and chronicles much of the later part of the hike.  At times she seems to revel in the attention but eventually comes to detest it.  This is very similar to what we see today with the celebrities today being hounded by the paparazzi.

On the whole, it is an inspiring story of one very tough old bird.  She eventually hiked the trail 3 times, the last at age 75.  She also walked the Oregon Trail from Independence, Mo. to Portland averaging 22 miles a day over the 2000 miles.  Wow.  This is a tale of a woman overcoming hardships with a fierce determination and faith.  The story makes me want to try a long hike (thinking of the Oregon portion to the Pacific Coast Trail), but I am unfortunately neither as mentally or physically tough as Emma Gatewood.