On the Beaten Path: An Appalachian Pilgrimage

by Robert Alden Rubin

Release Date: 01 September, 2001

Edition: Paperback

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Not a How-to Book.

I recently completed reading "On the Beaten Path" by Robert Rubin. It is a (recent) release about an Appalachian thruhike pilgrimage. You have probably read other journals if considering walking the 2100 mile journey but I am sure you won't find one better. It is not a "how to" book. Rather, his prose are that of a trained writer which makes reading the journal swift and entertaining. Rubin somehow doesn't write much about his gear not unlike a surgeon omitting comments about a particular scalpel. Being a gear addict, I was dissappointed because of this omission but accepted the fact that his load was just plain heavy. Rubin does write of the heavy feeling in his heart as each step takes him further and further from his wife but closer to his ultimate goal of completing the trail.

I never really considered thruhiking the Appalachian Trail. Too many sacrifices and excuses at this stage of my life. Robert Rubin felt the same way but one day realized he needed to do something meaningful for himself. I may not ever find myself on Springer Mountain in Georgia where the trail commences but after reading this delightful book, I will always look at thruhikers with a renewed amount of respect. - John

The Real Deal

Bryson's book was comedy. Rubin's book is reality. Each is a worthwhile read, but for different reasons. Rubin has captured the essence and magnitude of a long distance hike, including plenty of humor. Bryson did what Bryson does, exaggerate his perceptions and make people laugh out loud. If pure fun and laughter are your goals, go read Bryson. If you want a personal peek inside a real thruhike, follow Rhymin' Worm from GA-ME. While his occasional mention of job and marital woes may be distracting for some readers intent on the guts of the hike, such thoughts and emotions are indeed typical of the stuff which stirs in a thruhiker's mind during the seemingly-endless, thousand-plus hours he or she is striding the trail. This book is well-crafted, and gives the reader an authentic look inside the thruhike experience.