P J Wetzel has officially hiked more than 2000 miles of the
Appalachian Trail this year, as of May 9, 2012. I met Pete through the
Eldersburg Critique group and have been following his adventures through his
blog
“It's a big milestone, and yet it's not even half of the
4368.4 miles I must hike this calendar year to achieve my goal: to be the first
person to hike the entire AT both ways in one calendar year without ever
spending an overnight on the trail,” Pete wrote.
Reading about his adventures on the trail reminded me of Bill Bryson’s "A Walk in the Woods," which I read several years ago The book was a
hilarious account of Bryson’s walk along a portion of the Appalachian Trail. I
found it hilarious, as well as educational and read several more of his travel
books.
Pete is walking the entire, Appalachian Trail, which is a 2,184.2-mile
long public footpath that goes through the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian Trail is a. Conceived in 1921,
built by private citizens, and completed in 1937, today the trail is managed by
the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Appalachian Trail Conservancy,
numerous state agencies and thousands of volunteers. The trail is maintained by agencies such as the National
Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, numerous
state agencies and thousands of volunteers.
It is long, rough, often lonely
walk and offers a challenge to hikers. Pete has traveled through cold, snowy
and icy conditions and also through beautiful sunny days. He spent many
solitary days along the trail, but also met a wide variety of people during the
hike. His pictures, factual details and insights, make me feel I am traveling
with him, but without the discomfort.
Pete wrote: “The very popular book "AWOL on the
Appalachian Trail" began as a series of journal entries, some of which the
author wrote for his local newspaper. I've not recruited a local paper, but if
everything works out I will have a unique story to tell (nobody else has hiked
the entire trail twice in one year without spending a night camping-i.e. off
the trail every night.) There may be a book in that.”
Let’s hope so. Pete is a writer, a climate scientist and a
hiker, an interesting combination. While reading the blogs, I wondered if Pete would
combine his notes and publish a book? He should. I haven’t been able to read
all the entries, but I found those I read very insightful.
I discovered that there is hope. Responding to one of my
comments, Pete wrote, “I’m definitely planning to work on turning my blog posts
and personal journal entries into some kind of book….” I look forward to
reading it and traveling the Appalachian Trail through Pete’s eyes. You can check out his Pete’s reports at www.pjwetzel.com.
