TY  - BOOK
AU  - Fondren,Kristi M.
TI  - Walking on the Wild Side: Long-Distance Hiking on the Appalachian Trail 
SN  - 9780813571898
AV  - GV199.42.A68 F65 2016
U1  - 306.48125 
PY  - 2015///]
CY  - New Brunswick, NJ : 
PB  - Rutgers University Press, 
KW  - Hikers
KW  - Appalachian Trail
KW  - Biography
KW  - Social conditions
KW  - Hiking
KW  - Social aspects
KW  - Self-actualization (Psychology)
KW  - Case studies
KW  - Subculture
KW  - United States
KW  - SPORTS & RECREATION / General
KW  - bisacsh
N1  - Frontmatter --; CONTENTS --; Acknowledgments --; 1. From Georgia to Maine: The GA- ME Is Afoot --; 2. Hiker Trash: Constructing a Long- Distance Hiker Identity --; 3. April's Fools: A Situated Subcultural Identity --; 4. In Search of Ithaka: Long- Distance Hiking as Spiritual Quest --; 5. The Appalachian Trail, an ATopia? Social Differentiation and Hierarchies among the Tribe --; 6. Hike Your Own Hike: What the Hiking Subculture Tells Us about American Society --; Appendix: Research Methodology --; References --; Index --; About the Author; restricted access; Issued also in print
N2  - The most famous long-distance hiking trail in North America, the 2,181-mile Appalachian Trail-the longest hiking-only footpath in the world-runs along the Appalachian mountain range from Georgia to Maine. Every year about 2,000 individuals attempt to "thru-hike" the entire trail, a feat equivalent to hiking Mount Everest sixteen times. In Walking on the Wild Side, sociologist Kristi M. Fondren traces the stories of forty-six men and women who, for their own personal reasons, set out to conquer America's most well known, and arguably most social, long-distance hiking trail. In this fascinating in-depth study, Fondren shows how, once out on the trail, this unique subculture of hikers lives mostly in isolation, with their own way of acting, talking, and thinking; their own vocabulary; their own activities and interests; and their own conception of what is significant in life. They tend to be self-disciplined, have an unwavering trust in complete strangers, embrace a life of poverty, and reject modern-day institutions. The volume illuminates the intense social intimacy and bonding that forms among long-distance hikers as they collectively construct a long-distance hiker identity. Fondren describes how long-distance hikers develop a trail persona, underscoring how important a sense of place can be to our identity, and to our sense of who we are. Indeed, the author adds a new dimension to our understanding of the nature of identity in general. Anyone who has hiked-or has ever dreamed of hiking-the Appalachian Trail will find this volume fascinating. Walking on the Wild Side captures a community for whom the trail is a sacred place, a place to which they have become attached, socially, emotionally, and spiritually
UR  - https://doi.org/10.36019/9780813571904
UR  - https://www.degruyter.com/isbn/9780813571904
UR  - https://www.degruyter.com/cover/covers/9780813571904.jpg
ER  -