William McGuire Bryson is an American-British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has been a resident of Britain for most of his adult life, returning to the U.S. between 1995 and 2003, and holds dual American and British citizenship. He served as the chancellor of Durham University from 2005 to 2011.
Charles Robert Redford Jr. is a retired American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1996, the Academy Honorary Award in 2002, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2005, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, and the Honorary César in 2019. He was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2014.
The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost 2,200 miles (3,540 km) between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy claims the Appalachian Trail to be the longest hiking-only trail in the world. More than three million people hike segments of the trail each year.
The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie 100 to 150 miles east of the U.S. Pacific coast. The trail's southern terminus is next to the Mexico–United States border, just south of Campo, California, and its northern terminus is on the Canada–US border, upon which it continues unofficially to the Windy Joe Trail within Manning Park in British Columbia; it passes through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington.
Amicalola Falls State Park & Lodge is an 829-acre (3.35 km2) Georgia state park located between Ellijay and Dahlonega in Dawsonville, Georgia. The park's name is derived from a Cherokee language word meaning "tumbling waters". The park is home to Amicalola Falls, a 729-foot (222 m) waterfall that is the highest in Georgia. However, an analysis conducted by the World Waterfall Data base suggests that the main part of the falls is 429 ft (131 m) in height, followed by a prolonged gently sloping run in which the flow drops another 279 ft (85 m). It is considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia. An 8-mile (13 km) trail that winds past Amicalola Falls and leads to Springer Mountain, famous as the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, begins in the park. Amicalola Falls State Park also offers many hiking trails, a guest lodge, restaurant, cabins, a shelter for long-distance Appalachian Trail hikers, a campground, and access to the eco-friendly Len Foote Hike Inn.
Thru-hiking, or through-hiking, is the act of hiking an established long-distance trail end-to-end continuously.
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is a 2006 memoir by best-selling travel writer Bill Bryson. The book delves into Bryson's past, telling of his youth growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, during the 1950s and early 1960s. It also reveals the backstory between himself and Stephen Katz, who appeared in A Walk in the Woods and "Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe." Bryson also describes and comments on American life in the 1950s. The title of the book comes from an imaginary alter-ego Bryson invented for himself in his childhood, who has the ability to vaporise people.
The Walasi-Yi Interpretive Center is a small stone building located along US 19/129 at Neels Gap, Georgia, United States, on the eastern side of Blood Mountain. It is notable as the only place where the 2,175-mile-long Appalachian Trail passes through a man-made structure. It is currently the first mail-drop available to northbound thru-hikers that does not require one to leave the trail.
William Eugene Bryson Sr. was an American sportswriter who wrote for The Des Moines Register from 1937 until his retirement in 1978. He covered 32 consecutive World Series.
Down Under is the British title of a 2000 travelogue book about Australia written by best-selling travel writer Bill Bryson. In the United States and Canada it was published titled In a Sunburned Country, a title taken from the famous Australian poem, "My Country". It was also published as part of Walk About, which included Down Under and another of Bryson's books, A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, in one volume.
Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe is a 1991 humorous travelogue by American writer Bill Bryson. It documents the author's tour of Europe in 1990, with flashbacks to two summer tours he made in 1972 and 1973 in his college days. On his 1973 tour, he travelled with his friend Matt Angerer, pseudonymised in the book as Stephen Katz, who also appeared more prominently in Bryson's later book A Walk in the Woods, as well as in The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.
The Eastern Continental Trail (ECT) is a network of hiking trails in the United States and Canada, reaching from Key West, Florida to Belle Isle, Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Triple Crown of Hiking refers to the three major U.S. long-distance hiking trails:
McAfee Knob is a geological feature with an elevation of 3,197 feet (974 m) above sea level, located on Catawba Mountain in Catawba, Virginia. It is named for a Scottish-Irish 18th-century settler. Considered to be among the most iconic points along the Appalachian Trail, the vista offers panoramic views of the Catawba Valley, 1,600 feet (490 m) below.
Edward B. Garvey thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1970 and in 1971 published a book about his adventure, Appalachian Hiker, that raised awareness of thru-hiking.
The 'Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association is a non-profit organization founded in 1983 to support and promote the interests of long-distance hikers in the Appalachian mountain area and east of the Mississippi. It "was the first organization of long-distance hikers in the United States".
A Walk in the Woods is a 2015 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Ken Kwapis and starring Robert Redford, Nick Nolte and Emma Thompson. Based on the 1998 book of the same name by Bill Bryson, it was released on September 2, 2015, by Broad Green Pictures.
Warren Doyle is a hiker and supporter of the Appalachian Trail. He holds the informal record for the hiking the entire Appalachian Trail the most times. From 1974 to 2017, he organized and led 10 groups up the entire Appalachian Trail. He is the founder of two organizations dedicated to the trail: the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association, and the Appalachian Trail Institute. He remains the Director of Appalachian Trail Institute.
Bart Smith is an outdoor photographer who concentrates on documenting America's National Trails System. Over the course of more than 25 years, he became the first person to hike and photograph all of the 11 national scenic trails and to traverse all of the 19 national historic trails. The 30 national trails go through all 50 states, with a total mileage of more than 50,000 miles.
Karen Berger is an American writer, long-distance backpacker, and speaker. She is the author of adventure narratives, guidebooks, instructional books, and essays about the U.S. national scenic and historic trails, worldwide trails, and hiking and backpacking skills and techniques.
