{"product_id":"walking-on-the-wild-side-long-distance-hiking-on-the-appalachian-trail-9780813571898","title":"Walking on the Wild Side: Long-Distance Hiking on the Appalachian Trail","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Kristi M. Fondren\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Rutgers University Press\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Rutgers University Press\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Sociology of Sports\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eReceived the 2016 Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Award for Excellence in Recreation and Park Research from the National Recreation and Park Association\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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 \u003ci\u003eWalking on the Wild Side, \u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Anyone who has hiked--or has ever dreamed of hiking--the Appalachian Trail will find this volume fascinating. \u003ci\u003eWalking on the Wild Side\u003c\/i\u003e captures a community for whom the trail is a sacred place, a place to which they have become attached, socially, emotionally, and spiritually.","brand":"Atlantic Books","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46481942544535,"sku":"9780813571898","price":11269.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9780813571898.jpg?v=1766314447","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/walking-on-the-wild-side-long-distance-hiking-on-the-appalachian-trail-9780813571898","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}