Mt Whitney Zone
"What the hell happened to down?!"

A Walk in the Woods Trailer
Oh my goodness... I loved this book.. can't wait for the movie!!! Nolte and Redford... what a pair!!
Chris, it was originally slated to be Redford and Newman's last hurrah together. We were hiking up at Amicalola Falls (the beginning of the AT, with the approach to Springer Mountain) way back in 2008 and a park ranger told us that the two were there the previous week scouting for the movie. I remember thinking at the time that Newman would make a pretty lame Katz. So glad to see that Nolte wound up with the part - he's almost exactly like I pictured Katz in the book.

I'd loved to seen another Redford/Newman flick, but this was not the right story for the pair.

"Not the Little Debbies!!!!!"
I tried to embed the video here last night, but couldn't. (They need to put it on YouTube.)

It is going to be a fun movie to watch.
Originally Posted By: Bulldog34
"Not the Little Debbies!!!!!"


Probably one of the funniest lines in the book....

Could you imagine going for a hike and running into Newman and Redford just randomly out on the trail? Rumor (and photo's) have it that Mick Jagger took a stroll through one of my favorite local little parks here in San Diego the other day!

Originally Posted By: SoCalGirl
Could you imagine going for a hike and running into Newman and Redford just randomly out on the trail?


Like maybe this hike, Chris? Somehow, I don't see Redford and Newman on Corkscrew Peak . . .

Running into Newman would be a little creepy, don'y you think?

Anyway, it should have been Hoffman and Platt. Bryson and "Katz" were in their 40s fro cryin out loud.
Redford and Newman Almost Together Again

Aren't Redford and Hoffman pretty much the same age?
Originally Posted By: Bulldog34
Redford and Newman Almost Together Again

Aren't Redford and Hoffman pretty much the same age?


The late Phillip, not Dustin. Since Hoffman died, it should have been Paul Giamatti. I am not interested in seeing Grumpy Old Men meets Into the Wild.
Looking forward to this. Probably next year in this precinct. The last three movies that I saw in an actual theater were all about people finding themselves in the wilderness. Tracks (Robin Davidson & her camels & dog), Wild (Reese Withorwithout) and Mad Max - Fury Road (Bloody good, no Mel).
Originally Posted By: Bulldog34


Whatever happened to Katharine Ross? Still have a bit of a crush on her.
Originally Posted By: wagga
Originally Posted By: Bulldog34


Whatever happened to Katharine Ross? Still have a bit of a crush on her.


Dave, why am I betting that began with The Graduate?
The launch-off for these AT through-hikers, and the first few days on the trail, is really an interesting phenomenon. They gather from every corner of the world at Amicalola Falls State Park in late March and early April to begin the NOBO journey. They have their photos taken for the big board at the park, and are filled with excitement and optimism. Very few imagine that they might be among the 30% who don't even make it out of the state.

A few days down the trail many are ready to quit - usually after having their butts soundly kicked by Blood Mountain. Altitude is never an issue here, but the trails are rugged and steep. Switchbacks were not in vogue when many trails in the east were built. Coming down off of Blood Mountain, they arrive at another unique phenomenon - Mountain Crossings. Think of a Portal Store on steroids. Many arrive dispirited and ready to throw in the towel.

Winton Porter , the owner since 2001, and his staff rejuvenate a lot of these would-be quitters with a night or two in the hostel, a few hot meals, and a process called The Shakedown (see YouTube). His staff will go through your pack with you in detail, typically removing unnecessary poundage and shipping back home for the hiker. This exercise, and the advice he and his staff provide, has become legendary on the AT, and prevents that 30% figure from going even higher. He wrote an award-winning book a few years ago, Just Passin' Thru , that I highly recommend.

Winton bought Mountain Crossings/Walasi-Yi a few years after Bryson had completed his hike, so A Walk in the Woods didn't reflect this dynamic. If Bill and Katz had had the opportunity to visit a Porter-owned Mountain Crossings, I think it would have merited a full chapter in the book.

Sadly, Winton sold the store in 2013, but the new owners are committed to carrying on his legacy of being the premier through-hiker haven on the AT.
That's sorta like VVR used to be - hope that hasn't changed...
VVR?
Originally Posted By: Bulldog34
VVR?

Vermillion Valley Resort. Lake St. Thomas A. Edison
Originally Posted By: wagga
Originally Posted By: Bulldog34
VVR?

Vermillion Valley Resort. Lake St. Thomas A. Edison


Ah - got it!
Originally Posted By: wagga
Originally Posted By: Bulldog34


Whatever happened to Katharine Ross? Still have a bit of a crush on her.


Married and living happily ever after to Sam Elliot, raising trout in Malibu.
Originally Posted By: saltydog
Originally Posted By: wagga
Originally Posted By: Bulldog34


Whatever happened to Katharine Ross? Still have a bit of a crush on her.


Married and living happily ever after to Sam Elliot, raising trout in Malibu.

Sounds fishy to me.
Just got back from seeing the flick with my wife, and we agreed Hollywood has bungled another fine book. The cinematography was great, the casting good, but many of the things that made the book so wonderful were either glossed over or missing completely. The humor is all contained in the trailer - nothing really new in the movie.

At the point where we were introduced to Grizzlies roaming Virginia's Shenandoah (or maybe it was the Smokies - the progression was very unclear), I was tempted to get up and call it a night . . .

Without Bryson's book as a reference point, probably not a bad movie overall, as movies go nowadays. Just not the pop to the storylines that the book contained. I suspect that the huge increase in traffic that the PCT and JMT saw this summer with the Wild effect will be duplicated on the AT next year due to this flick. And that's a shame. The AT is uber-busy as it is and cannot handle a significant increase in traffic - especially more clueless, wanna-be-Redford traffic - without something giving.
Originally Posted By: Bulldog34
Just got back from seeing the flick with my wife, and we agreed Hollywood has bungled another fine book. The cinematography was great, the casting good, but many of the things that made the book so wonderful were either glossed over or missing completely. The humor is all contained in the trailer - nothing really new in the movie.

At the point where we were introduced to Grizzlies roaming Virginia's Shenandoah (or maybe it was the Smokies - the progression was very unclear), I was tempted to get up and call it a night . . .

Without Bryson's book as a reference point, probably not a bad movie overall, as movies go nowadays. Just not the pop to the storylines that the book contained. I suspect that the huge increase in traffic that the PCT and JMT saw this summer with the Wild effect will be duplicated on the AT next year due to this flick. And that's a shame. The AT is uber-busy as it is and cannot handle a significant increase in traffic - especially more clueless, wanna-be-Redford traffic - without something giving.

Too bad you didn't really enjoy it.

But then, you have to admit, you're not the demographic they're aiming for. You have way too much outdoor hiking/backpacking experience compared to their targets.

We'll have to see how the general public receives it.

Grizzlies, eh?
It wasn't so much that, Steve, as completely omitting so many key points in the book that made it such a wonderful read. Bryson told numerous - usually hilarious - stories about his partner Katz, the characters they met along the way, his observations of culture and trail-building; and they were either missing or were so watered down as to be as good as MIA. It was really these anecdotes and sidebars that made AWitW so different from most of the other I-found-myself long trail books.

As to the hiking technicalities, yeah, there were a few head-scratchers. Two old guys covering hundreds of miles of steep trail wearing heavy packs - with trekking poles always strapped on but never in use. Numerous scenes where they dropped their loaded 85l packs, and the packs were obviously light as a feather. Meeting an AT SoBo in April in Georgia (implying an early-winter start in Maine). A movie about through-hiking the AT that had precious little hiking in it. Sequences were screwy as well. Somehow the iconic AT plaque on Springer Mountain that begins the trail got moved several dozen miles north past Neel's Gap. McAfee Knob in Virginia (the jaw-dropping ledge overlook) either moved a couple of hundred miles north or they were cluelessly hiking southbound for weeks. If that dramatic, narrow, exposed section where they took a tumble and spent the night "trapped" really exists, I'd like to know where it is. Other than the obligatory bear scene, zero wildlife was depicted.

Those were nuisances, and unfortunately expected in a Hollywood rendition of a book, but the scene where two Grizzlies invaded their camp . . . Barb and I looked at each other and said, "those are Grizzlies" in unison at about the same time Redford shouts, "Grizzlies!" Might as well have a T-Rex come roaring out of the southern woods. How much research do you have to do to know the only wild Grizzlies in the Lower 48 are clustered around Yellowstone/Glacier and spottily along the Canadian border?

As I said, though, the cinematography was great - the many scenes in Georgia were spot-on and clearly filmed on location. The Virginia scenery was outstanding. The casting was good - Nolte may not have been the perfect Katz as pictured in the book, but he handled the role well, as did Redford. This was Redford's movie, though, from start to finish, and he worked on it many years. I expected a more accurate representation of the book's special character and was disappointed.

Looking forward to the release of Everest next week. I hear the cinematography is mind-blowing.

Neither my wife or I have read the book, or even knew anything about it, so when we went to see the movie we had no expectations as to content. We did know from the ads and trailers that it was a "feel good" movie, and with Redford, Nolte, Steenburgen, and Thompson we felt it was something we would enjoy.

We were not disappointed. Even though some of the lines were familiar (e.g. Katz's comment on how he "wasted" 1/2 of his life), they were delivered so well that we laughed out loud.

For us, it was an entertaining 90 minutes. So, perhaps Steve's comment about the target audience is good.

Based on some of your comments I may even go out and buy the book to see what I missed.
Saw it last night. Watered down and over aged, did the book great injustice. Another phoned-in performance by Redford. Nolte's movie from the moment he appears. And c'mon: Grizzlies? Two seventy-somethings fall 50 feet and pick themselves right up? And its a miracle that someone else happened along the AT to save them? April in one shot and full summer the next day? Only guys on the trail over 30? Is Mary Steenburgen aging backwards?

Should have been Paul Giamatti and Oliver Platt.

Next . . . "EVEREST"!!!
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