American Camino: 100-107 - Natalea Odell

American Camino: 100-107

My favorite line from this section is, “as hikers walk together, or pass one another multiple times each day, their bond of mutual suffering and comradeship of wilderness sojourning grows stronger” (101). Although I do not plan to hike the entirety of the Appalachian trial, I enjoyed reading about the specific sections and how hikers made their way to towns and hostels. I would assume this must be an incredibly challenging but freeing experience. As an introvert, I could not imagine being so open to strangers especially in such an isolated environment. Additionally, I think to enjoy this intense journey, you must have a love for nature. The veteran hiker called her surroundings “a bunch of boring trees”, but I’m curious to know if others, more in awe of nature, would have a better experience. More so, I wonder if this young veteran hiker disliked trees more after the AT or had an appreciation for them. I agree with “interacting with the great variety of extra-human plant life enhances human bonding by loosening utilitarian and mediated frames”. I think if we try to bond with the world around us more, we would have a better appreciation for it and what it does.


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