A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

“As I rebuild the WLS archive with books I've read from 2011 through to 2025, I want to build a fully-fledged ecosystem of books I've read and recommend. I'd like to be able to reference and speak to any I've finished. For books I haven't reviewed (or can't entirely remember), please enjoy this brief questionnaire that can help you decide whether it's a read you'd like to pursue. Some of these are favorites I just haven't gotten around to fully reviewing yet—I'll explain in each description, but I hope this Q&A can be illuminating to you in the meantime.”

The Appalachian Trail trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America-majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If you're going to take a hike, it's probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaining guide you'll find. He introduces us to the history and ecology of the trail and to some of the other hardy (or just foolhardy) folks he meets along the way-and a couple of bears. Already a classic, A Walk in the Woods will make you long for the great outdoors (or at least a comfortable chair to sit and read in).

Thanks for reading Words Like Silver! Subscribe for free to support my work.

Subscribe Now

placeholder

Why Did I Read This Book?

My dad absolutely loves Bill Bryson. He can also sometimes be a repetitive storyteller (we love it, or at least tolerate—he's an interesting guy) so there's definitely a thread or two of conversation at the table that starts, "You know, there's this book by Bill Bryson..."

While this was my first experience with Bill Bryson as a writer, I am obsessed with thru-hiking. I know that one of my big life goals is to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail (which is perhaps more accurate to Wild by Cheryl Strayed, minus the lack of preparation and the heroin), and that I'm stubborn enough that I absolutely will do it. My only hurdle is timing, because obviously, you have to set aside a significant portion of your year to do it and be able to determine that with enough time and luck to get a permit.

Although my hunger relates to the PCT, of course, I go down a rabbit hole about hiking, backpacking, nature, awe, survivalism, contrast of pleasures, etc,. about once a year.

For one, I think that backpacking memoirs make meso grateful for every simple material pleasure, and I love that recalibration. Brilliant move by my college, actually: before orientation, you can sign up to be thrown into the woods with a group of entering freshman to section-hike and camp on portions of the nearby AT. One of the guys on my trip ended up being my first friend at W&L and became one of my best friends I consider lifelong (although I rarely see him anymore—hey Chase and Olivia!) Getting back to the dorms for the first time as residents, the showers felt blissful and luxurious. That twin XL mattress? Heavenly.

I saw a used copy of this in BookEnds, a fabulously cluttered indie in Kailua on the east side of the island, in 2020 and snagged it. The rest is history.

What's This Book About?

Bill Bryson writes voicey, funny, lighthearted memoirs and explainers that incorporate a lot of digestible anthropological knowledge. His particular slant was welcome in a genre of hiking memoir that can sometimes get laden down with weight and seriousness. (Deservedly—it's a significant undertaking.) Still, his perspective is welcome, gentle, and humorous.

In A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson talks about his experience preparing for and completing most of the Appalachian Trail, which traces from Georgia to Maine (if you do it northbound—the classic way—instead of southbound.)

He recruits an old friend to do it with him. In some ways, it's nice to have the company; in others, he's challenged by the friend's inexperience and bumbling disposition. Throughout his reflections, certain moments stand out—experiencing the first snow, analyzing the first person to complete the trail, the connection with nature, etc,.

What Do I Remember Most About It?

It sounds weak to say so, but A Walk in the Woods is overall an incredibly pleasant read, but for that reason, it does stand out in my memory. It reminds me to take goals a little less seriously, but also pays homage to the history, figures, and anthropology that created the trail as-is today. Bryson doesn't complete the trail (which any thru-hiker will point out as a gotcha), but he does convey a certain flavor of the experience that I crave in these types of narratives—and desperately want for myself.

Similarly, I generally don't find many books funny. Those billed as such often fall flat for me. I wouldn't say A Walk in the Woods is laugh-out-loud hilarious or anything, but it's clever in a specific humor I appreciate: wry, observant, not trying too hard. I do feel like I get an apt and thorough sense for Bill Bryson's particular way of seeing the world, and command of voice is always a quality I seek in favorite writers.

Who's It Best for?

First instinct? Dads. Boys. (I don't believe in the concept of boy books, but you know what I mean.) Bill Bryson is a crowd-pleaser and very palatable without being boring or neutral, which would normally be my critique for a give-to-everyone read.

Of course, the daily walker would appreciate his meditations on the tread and endorphins. I'm thinking about a friend's dad who's really into bird-watching who would likely appreciate the descriptions of foliage and wildlife. And, of course, his meditations on the rhythm of thru-hiking makes me want to do it more than ever.

Southerners who intersect with the trail—such as those in North Carolina or Virginia—may appreciate the up-close-and-personal look at the Appalachian Mountains and its residents. (I wrote a book that's a love letter to Appalachia, steeped in mountain folklore—so I get it.

Like I said: crowd-pleaser. And super easy to get through; I think I finished it within maybe two hours on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and it definitely motivated me to get outside.

PS. This book makes me miss college and the Shenandoah Valley.

A Few Lines & Moments I Loved

“Black bears rarely attack. But here's the thing. Sometimes they do. All bears are agile, cunning and immensely strong, and they are always hungry. If they want to kill you and eat you, they can, and pretty much whenever they want. That doesn't happen often, but - and here is the absolutely salient point—once would be enough.”

“Life takes on a neat simplicity, too. Time ceases to have any meaning. When it is dark, you go to bed, and when it is light again you get up, and everything in between is just in between. It’s quite wonderful, really. You have no engagements, commitments, obligations, or duties; no special ambitions and only the smallest, least complicated of wants; you exist in a tranquil tedium, serenely beyond the reach of exasperation, “far removed from the seats of strife,” as the early explorer and botanist William Bartram put it. All that is required of you is a willingness to trudge.”

“Hunters will tell you that a moose is a wily and ferocious forest creature. Nonsense. A moose is a cow drawn by a three-year-old.”

If You Liked It, Read These Others:

nature meditations / Essential Muir: A Selection of John Muir's Best Writings by Frank D White

trails / On Trails: An Exploration by Robert Moor

silence in nature / Silence: In the Age of Noise by Erling Kagge

humility & removal from society / How to Disappear by Akiko Busch

thru-hiking the trail / Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Bill Bryson / The Body by Bill Bryson