Really, there is no news to speak of, well maybe some would consider it news that I have started reading a book. It is an interesting book, not really what I was expecting out of the book, but I will continue reading it because it is quite entertaining. The book is “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson, essentially it is a book about his experiences on the Appalachian Trail. I am 9 chapters into the book right now, and I find it absolutely amazing how different his way of thinking is. I will guess that having lived 20 years in Europe would put him out of touch with the reality of what life in the US is like, but still.

To this point he has stated that nobody in the US works out, hikes or walks anywhere. I know we are lazy but I think this is a statement far from the truth, I mean, I am a lazy person, but I still get out and walk and bike and generally get some exercise. He has also serious issues with the southern US. I can’t say for a fact that Georgia is really free of hillbilly’s like from Deliverance, I believe that he is hitting the stereotypes pretty hard.

The whole idea of hiking the AT has always seemed like an epic undertaking, which I think the idea of hiking over 2100 miles would seem a fairly hefty task for any person with a reasonable head on their shoulders. Heck, driving that far would take a decent amount of time, and takes most people a good 4-5 months. Why would anyone who just casually walks consider this to be “a walk in the woods”. Just thinking about some of this is enough to get me a little pist, but that is in combination with some other developements. Maybe by the end of the book, I will warm a bit to the author’s style of writing, I know I do some strange things, but I at least like to be informed of things before I pass on the information. I find it hard to believe that he has done much research on a lot of the tangents that he goes off upon. I also woul dnot consider him to have hiked the AT, as of where I left off, he has just skipped a portion of the trail by driving to another state and continuing…….