A Walk in the Woods

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1998

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-4

Chapters 5-6

Chapters 7-8

Chapters 9-10

Chapters 11-12

Chapters 13-14

Chapters 15-16

Chapters 17-18

Chapters 19-21

Key Figures

Themes

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Chapters 15-16Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 15 Summary

Bryson provides a lengthy discussion on the earth’s geological history and how mountain ranges wear away over millions of years. Because the Appalachians are older than most other mountain chains on the planet, they’ve had far more time to wither away and now are nowhere near the size and scale that they once were. He explains that this takes place because streams carry away roughly 1,000 cubic feet of mountains in sand granules every year. Bryson adds, “Right now the Appalachians are shrinking on average by 0.03 millimeters per year” (275). In Northern Pennsylvania, Bryson approaches Kittatinny Mountain and a unique geological feature known as the Delaware Water Gap, which formed a viewable cross-section of mountain where the Delaware River cut a passage through softer rock. He hikes for five miles up Kittatinny, leaving Pennsylvania and crossing into New Jersey, toward another geological feature known as Sunfish Pond, a mountaintop pond formed by glacial movement during the last Ice Age.

Chapter 16 Summary

Bryson happily returns to New England, hoping to tackle as many of the AT’s 700 miles in the region as he can before meeting up with Katz again in August to hike the Hundred Mile Wilderness in Maine. He begins with a three-day hike in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts and is concerned because mountain lion sightings have been increasing. Noting that the eastern mountain lion was thought to be extinct leads to a discussion about other animals that have been wiped out of eastern woodlands because of overhunting, specifically the timber wolf and various songbird species. In the Berkshires, Bryson meets a fellow hiker nicknamed Chicken John, who is something of an AT celebrity because of his propensity to repeatedly get lost. The two hike together for six miles to the town of Dalton, Massachusetts, where Bryson gets a motel room.

The following day, he hikes nine miles to the town of Cheshire and then another four miles to Adams, where he spends the night before departing the next morning to summit Mount Greylock on the AT and then meets his wife in Williamstown. Soon, Bryson begins a series of AT day hikes again, this time across Vermont. He points out that for more than 100 miles through Vermont, the AT coexists with the famous Long Trail, which is equally popular among hikers and predates the AT. These day hikes across Vermont continue for three weeks, and although he vowed to never hike by car again, Bryson begins to like hiking the AT a little each day and returning home to sleep in his own bed.

Chapters 15-16 Analysis

Once again stepping away from a pure narrative approach, Bryson re-engages with one of the book’s primary themes, The History of the Appalachian Trail, by beginning Chapter 15 with a lengthy discussion on the geological history of the Appalachian Mountains and how they’ve drastically shrunk over millions of years. Hiking the Delaware Valley in Northern Pennsylvania and visiting the unique Delaware Water Gap reflect the theme of Wilderness and Civilization. According to Bryson, a former plan to dam the Delaware River was never completed even after the government purchased the land and cleared homes and farms off of it. The end result was that the AT, which runs through the site, now has a protected corridor. Despite realizing that the AT is supposed to be a wilderness experience and acknowledging that it mostly should be, Bryson admits that he’d like the opportunity to hike the trail through hamlets and farmlands on occasion.

In Chapter 16, Bryson continues to alternate between the trek narrative and background information emphasizing the history of the trail area. He begins the chapter by detailing the many species of birds and mammals that have been hunted to extinction. Continuing to hike in isolation but now back in New England, Bryson travels to the small communities of Dalton, Cheshire, and Adams, all in Western Massachusetts, before hiking Mount Greylock. With this trek, he begins a third form of day hiking, in which his wife drops him at a location, he hikes from town to town along the AT and stays in motels, and she returns days later at a location further northward on the trail to pick him up. When he reaches the Vermont portion of the AT, he switches back to hiking by car, which he earlier swore never to do again. He notes that this time around, it completely suits him because he can hike all day and go home to sleep in his own bed. This highlights how one can adapt to different types of hiking—true trekking versus day hiking. When one is far from home and has spent significant time backpacking in the wilderness, civilization can feel foreign or—with the exception of certain conveniences—even repugnant. Conversely, when one is closer to the comforts of home, civilization becomes more attractive, and day hikes are sufficient to get a dose of nature’s tranquility.