Grandma Gatewoods Walk

Posted on 15 March 2017 by Ben Montgomery

Winner of the 2014 National Outdoor Book Awards for History Biography Emma Gatewood told her family she was going on a walk and left her small Ohio hometown with a change of clothes and less than two hundred dollars The next anybody heard from her, this genteel, farm reared, 67 year old great grandmother had walked 800 miles along the 2,050 mile Appalachian Trail And in September 1955, having survived a rattlesnake strike, two hurricanes, and a run in with gangsters from Harlem, she stood atop Maine s Mount Katahdin There she sang the first verse of America, the Beautiful and proclaimed, I said I ll do it, and I ve done it Grandma Gatewood, as the reporters called her, became the first woman to hike the entire Appalachian Trail alone, as well as the first person man or woman to walk it twice and three times Gatewood became a hiking celebrity and appeared on TV and in the pages of Sports Illustrated The public attention she brought to the little known footpath was unprecedented Her vocal criticism of the lousy, difficult stretches led to bolstered maintenance, and very likely saved the trail from extinction.Author Ben Montgomery was given unprecedented access to Gatewood s own diaries, trail journals, and correspondence, and interviewed surviving family members and those she met along her hike, all to answer the question so many asked Why did she do itThe story of Grandma Gatewood will inspire readers of all ages by illustrating the full power of human spirit and determination Even those who know of Gatewood don t know the full story a story of triumph from pain, rebellion from brutality, hope from suffering. Best Read [ Grandma Gatewoods Walk ] By [ Ben Montgomery ] – kino-fada.fr Buddy read with my wonderful friend, Candi This book was a great inspiration For those of you that actually read my reviews there will be some spoilers on down the line because I just have to talk about Emma s horrific husband for a minute Anyway, at one time me, my dog, my dad, my ex boyfriend and dog were going to hike a portion of the trail and I wanted to spend one night and hike back But, we never did and then I became home bound so that s never going to happen We used to pass this Buddy read with my wonderful friend, Candi This book was a great inspiration For those of you that actually read my reviews there will be some spoilers on down the line because I just have to talk about Emma s horrific husband for a minute Anyway, at one time me, my dog, my dad, my ex boyfriend and dog were going to hike a portion of the trail and I wanted to spend one night and hike back But, we never did and then I became home bound so that s never going to happen We used to pass this sign showing the trail when we were going to one of our places down the road There were so many referen...She stood, finally, her canvas Keds tied tight, on May 3, 1955, atop the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, the longest continuous footpath in the world, facing the peaks on the blue black horizon that stretched toward heaven and unfurled before her for days Facing a mean landscape of angry rivers and hateful rock she stood, a woman, mother of eleven and grandmother of twenty three She had not been able to get the trail out of her mind So began Emma Gatewood s remarkable 2,050 mileShe stood, finally, her canvas Keds tied tight, on May 3, 1955, atop the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, the longest continuous footpath in the world, facing the peaks on the blue black horizon that stretched toward heaven and unfurled before her for days Facing a mean landscape of angry rivers and hateful rock she stood, a woman, mother of eleven and grandmother of twenty three She had not been able to get the trail out of her mind So began Emma Gatewood s remarkable 2,050 mile journey through thirteen states stretching from Mount Oglethorpe in Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine More affectionately known as Grandma Gatewood, she would distinguish herself as being the first woman to ever hike the Appalachian Trail alone She would be cel...A gentle and nearly perfect tracing of steps of a determined woman who was among the first to simply walk the Appalachian Trail from one end to the other, in the middle of the 20th century, when she was 67 years old It s also a book about the emotional and physical journey that was her disastrously abusive married life and the solace she found in nature as an independent old lady There s a little something in here for everyone people who love nature and hiking epic or simple and people wh A gentle and nearly perfect tracing of steps of a determined woman who was among the first to simply walk the Appalachian Trail from one end to the other, in the middle of the 20th century, when she was 67 years old It s also a book about the emotional and physical jou...5 Stars for Grandma Gatewood s Inspirational Story MAY 2 9, 1955She packed her things in late spring, when her flowers were in full bloom, and left Gallia County, Ohio, the only place she d every really called home She stood, finally, her canvas Keds tied tight, on May 3, 1955, atop the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, the longest continuous footpath in the world, facing the peaks on the blue black horizon that stretched toward heaven and unfurled before her for days Facing a 5 Stars for Grandma Gatewood s Inspirational Story MAY 2 9, 1955She packed her things in late spring, when her flowers were in full bloom, and left Gallia County, Ohio, the only place she d every really called home She stood, finally, her canvas Keds tied tight, on May 3, 1955, atop the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, the longest continuous footpath in the world, facing the peaks on the blue black horizon that stretched toward heaven and unfurled before her for days Facing a mean landscape of angry rivers and hateful rock she stood, a woman, mother of eleven and grandmother of twenty three She had not been able to get the trail out of her mind She had thought of it constantly back home in Ohio, where she tende...A huge debt of gratitude is wished to my GR friend Julie for recommending Grandma Gatewood s Walk The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail to me Though I have hid one part of my review as a spoiler, my enthusiasm for this book may contain others It s a case of toldrather than less but I m certain you ll still find insights of your own to take away from this read.It was the spring of 1955, May to be exact when Emma Gatewood set out from her home in Galliapolis, Oh A huge debt of gratitude is wished to my GR friend Julie for recommending Grandma Gatewood s Walk The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail to me Though I have hid one part of my review as a spoiler, my enthusiasm for this book may contain others It s a case of toldrather than less but I m certain you ll still find insights of your own to take away from this read.It was the spring of 1955, May to be exact when Emma Gatewood set out from her home in Galliapolis, Ohio on a walk Not just any walk, but one step in front of the other, 5 million of these on the 2,000 plus mile journey from Georgia to Maine, to become the first recognized woman thru hiker on The Appalachian Trail Most ...A cool story told by a mediocre author I have no idea how this guy was a Pulitzer Prize finalist The writing is ok but the book jumps back and forth between Gatewood s past and her hike The jumps happen without warning and make little sense in terms of flow The bulk of the book is devoted to her first thru hike with the others mentioned only in passing I found the amount of detail and lack of balance a little odd.One chapter in the last third of the book consists of the author s account of A cool story told by a mediocre author I have no idea how this guy was a Pulitzer Prize finalist The writing is ok but the book jumps back and forth between Gatewood s past and her hike The jumps happen without warning and make little sense in terms of flow The bulk of the book is devoted to her first thru hike with the others mentioned only in passing I found the amount of detail and lack of balance a little odd.One chapter in the last third of the book consists of the author s account of retracing Grandma Gatewood s steps up the last portion of the trail in Maine Like many male authors, Montgomery felt the need to unnecessarily insert himself into what is a woman s story Rather than using Gatewood s own descriptions of her experience, he decided it wasimportant to experience it himself since w...Although it seems wholly inadequate, the only word I can think of to describe this book and this woman is WOW Author Ben Montgomery tells the story of Emma Grandma Gatewood, the first woman to ever through hike the 2,050 Appalachian Trail in 1957 at the age of 67 She then became the first person male or female to hike the trail two, and then three times She was first inspired to hike the trail while reading about it in an article in National Geographic magazine The article cla Although it seems wholly inadequate, the only word I can think of to describe this book and this woman is WOW Author Ben Montgomery tells the story of Emma Grandma Gatewood, the first woman to ever through hike the 2,050 Appalachian Trail in 1957 at the age of 67 She then became the first person male or female to hike the trail two, and then three times She was first inspired to hike the trail while reading about it in an article in National Geographic magazine The article claimed that any person in reasonable health should be able to hike the trail and wouldn t need any special equipment This was in a time when ev...Grandma Emma Gstewood was an amazing woman who, at the age of 67 and with no long distance hiking experience, hiked the entire Appalachian Trail First woman to hike the AT alone, she returned and hiked it severaltimes That she did this without advance preparation, without the essential gear, and apparently without any fear is just amazing Of course, she had the truly essential gear determination, courage, and good health.A moderately interesting book about a f...A mile or so from my house is the Tuscobia, a 70 mile recreational trail that cuts through the western half of Northern Wisconsin On its way, it passes through a half dozen small towns, nonethan a few hundred people in size, as well as the Chequamegon National Forest, a massive swathe of land that has largely been left to the animals, of which there are many There is nothing spectacular about the trail besides the occasional railroad spike sticking out of the ground no landmarks, no gre A mile or so from my house is the Tuscobia, a 70 mile recreational trail that cuts through the western half of Northern Wisconsin On its way, it passes through a half dozen small towns, nonethan a few hundred people in size, as well as the Chequamegon National Forest, a massive swathe of land that has largely been left to the animals, of which there are many There is nothing spectacular about the trail besides the occasional railroad spike sticking out of the ground no landmarks, no great natural landscapes, no fluctuations in terrain, its flatness bespeaking its former use and yet, a few years ago, I began walking it At first I covered only a few miles, making sure I turned back before it became too dark, or before my domesticated knees threatened to give out As the su... I won this book from a Goodreads Giveaway thank youEmma Gatewood walked the 2,000 miles of the Appalachian Trail as a thru hiker in 1955, the first for a woman And then did it twotimes because she wanted to She then hiked the entire Oregon Trail, and did some other hike up into Canada She started her hiking career at age 67 That s right, you feel like a lazy SOB about now It s OK, so did I But in case you want to feel a little worse about yourself, consider these facts She wore I won this book from a Goodreads Giveaway thank youEmma Gatewood walked the 2,000 miles of the Appalachian Trail as a thru hiker in 1955, the first for a woman And then did it twotimes because she wanted to She then hiked the entire Oregon Trail, and did some other hike up into Canada She started her hiking career at age 67 That s right, you feel like a lazy SOB about now It s OK, so did I But in case you want to feel a little worse about yourself, consider these facts She wore a pair of Keds, packed a shower curtain for rain, ate bullion cubes for nourishment, and had broken glasses for a large portion of her journey She carried her possessions in a sack Not a backpack, but a literal drawstring sack that was lumped over her shoulder She was 5 foot 2 inches tall.It was all well documented back in the 1950 s 1970 s, and if you live on the east coast you may ...

English
15 March 2017

Ben Montgomery