Bill Bryson in Frederick, MD

[DWill]

I don't have a sense of whether any other BT members live in the greater Washington DC area, but thought I'd mention that Bill Bryson will be speaking in Frederick, MD on March 5 and 6. He is sure to attract a crowd, and this is partly because of his 1998 book A Walk in the Woods, about his and his companion's attempted thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, which runs very close to Frederick and is near the HQ of the Trail in Harpers Ferry, WV. He doesn't get love from all of the "Trail Community" for the book, though. Some dislike him because he didn't complete the hike (doing "only" 850 miles), made sarcastic remarks about Southerners (true), wasn't a hiking purist (also true), and wasn't always reverential toward the Trail.

These criticisms are overblown and some of the hiking folks need to lighten up. I like both the book and Bryson very much. If you haven't read A Walk in the Woods, you don't need to be a hiker to enjoy it.