The Barefoot Sisters Walking Home (Adventures on the Appalachian Trail)

I got really into the first of these two books and then this one. I love real-life nature adventure stories, and I felt like I was along with the two sisters for their journey.During the hardest time in my life, this kept me engaged in something that was just the right of escapism, easy to read, and engaging. I'm so impressed how much of the trail they were able to hike barefoot, and the fact that they reached the Georgia terminus just to turn around and go northbound.

I have read a lot of books about hiking the Appalachian Trail, and this is one of my favorites!

Shouldering our packs to leave, my nephew and I met the Barefoot Sisters just as they arrived at the 501 shelter.Per their book, after reaching the 501, the sisters got off trail to go to town for a sit down meal at a pizzeria.Despite the time it took them to go to town, eat their meal, and return to the 501 shelter, they effortlessly caught up and passed us by before we even made it to Hertlein Campground.Look at the map to see how close Hertlein is to the 501, and you'll understand how humiliating this admission is.Next day just before Port Clinton they blasted past us a second time.It was like we were standing still.I thoroughly enjoyed this trail journal of their experiences and getting some back stories on hikers we met while in Va and Pa, e.g. ,ThaWookie, Parypinoy, Smokey, Iculus, Spur & Ready, Swampfoot, Julien (the stovemaker), Maineiac, and The Flash.

Really appreciated finishing this tale, loved the trail experiences, loved reliving and seeing the places where I'd been decades ago, but....I have some difficulty with reading about how these two hiked the AT; they got on it and off of it so many times, took countless "zeros," even went to FL in the middle of the hike!!!not to mention-slack packing and having a kegger along the way. It was of course, their own hike, but it read in some spots like a moveable party from hostel to hostel. Of course they were serious about the trail- to each their own, I suppose.Maybe I'm just jealous of their good time agenda- or, maybe life along the AT has morphed into this kind of a free will experience, I don't know--it was just different when I did it. Their trip was not all fun and games either--there were some serious problems which surfaced - physically and mentally too. I'm not questioning their dedication to doing this "thru" hike, they certainly did hike/yo yo hike the AT. Just that they seemed to spend almost as much time off the trail as on. I thought the essence of a thru hike was to get on it and stay on it - with as little time off as possible. I was 23 when I did it, but had to stop around 1/2 way due to going back to work to make some money before college. I would have given just about anything to have been a thru hiker to Springer Mountain - but I had a scholarship waiting. So, I sectioned hiked the next summer, but only did small sections, since I had a part time job. Again, time ran out due to $ and school, so I'm completely envious, too that Jackrabbit and Isis did manage to turn around and come north. Now I have 16 yr old twins who very likely will do some of their own hiking one day.Who knows where their path begins....All in all, a good read, and somewhat inspiring, too - not everyone has the same itinerary, and that a is probably the real message behind their writing. It's probably the best way to approach this continuation book, too - expect an off the beaten path, non-standard hiking story, complete with excellent trail anecdotes, too!

It is axiomatic that it is difficult for a sequel to equal the original.In "Walking Home," the Barefoot Sisters Isis and jackrabbit "yo-yo" their original "Southbound" hike and return home to Maine on the Appalachian Trail.This time taking the more usual pattern, which more than 90 percent of AT through-hikers choose, the sisters leave Georgia in mid-March of 2001 to complete their AT return hike by October 15, the last day Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park remains open."Walking Home" could have been an extension in the first book. However, the sisters decided to set it up as a sequel. While it is quite good, some of the unusual and most distinctive aspects of the earlier work are lacking: namely, the less common direction taken in the original work(southbound); the fact that much of the hiking in the earlier work was done during winter months; and the fact that there was far less barefoot hiking than in the earlier work.That said, "Walking Home" is largely a continuation. "Walking Home" includes the situation that jackrabbit faces when she comes down with early-stage Lyme Disease, a situation that goes unrecognized, undiagnosed and untreated for some time.The occurrence of the "9-11" attack takes place in the latter months of their return journey. Its effect upon AT through-hikers who are trying to escape real-world concerns is notable.Unlike in "Southbound," in "Walking Home," the sisters have real-life encounters with rattlesnakes, bear and moose, something most AT through-hikers look forward to while hoping that such encounters will be non-eventful.Side-junkets such as the extended beach stay in Florida along with multiple off-trail side trips tend to distract the reader and take away from trail hiking. The large amount of "slackpacking" done by the sisters on their return journey (when backpacks are shuttled by car) will put off more purist backpackers.By the time of "Walking Home," the Barefoot Sisters had achieved something akin to celebrity status. This has unintended effects upon them as well as upon others whom they befriend, even "trail angels" and supportive third-parties.I highly recommend "Walking Home" but as stated in the first paragraph, it can be difficult for the sequel to equal the original.

It was a struggle finishing the first book, Southbound, but I'd already purchased this book before I'd found that out. So I gave it a shot, but just couldn't finish it. These books are way too long and tedious at times. I don't know, maybe I'd just exhausted my obsession with hiking books and read too many by the time I got to this one...

This book isn't as much a sequel but just part 2 to the journey the sisters began. I love the stories they tell (although sometimes jackrabbit can get dark due to her depression and you might have to put the book down for awhile).