Walking in the Woods

Katz and Bill are trying to walk on average 16 miles a day. But that is not really working out for them. They have a few things go wrong for them on the trip. One thing is that it gets very cold. About -16 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature makes them walk much much slower. They are not getting a good nights rest and are paying for it while they hike. Then a few days after the cold, it starts to snow. It snows and snows and seems it will never stop. They get lost a few times, slowing them down a lot. The snow gets so deep that they cannot walk anymore. They stop at an AT shelter for the night. There are two others there already. A father and a son just doing a little bit of the trail. They spend the night there sitting by the warm fire and dry off all of their clothes. In the morning, they wake up to many feet of snow on the ground. There is almost 4 feet of it in some places Bill reckons. They decide to stay inside for a day. The next day, they have to leave if they ever want to finish the trail. So they head off again. But they only go 9 miles before they have to stop again because of the snow. This time, they stop at a motel-like shelter with a store and everything. When they walk in, they see recognizable faces everywhere of people they have seen on the trail already. They get settled in for the night and try to sleep in the disgusting room they are in. In the room, there are 4 bunk beds. All of which stink terribly. They wake up and see even more snow. Bill and Katz and everybody else that was already in there is stuck there for 5 days. The workers of the shelter take everybody into the closest town. Katz buys a 24 pack of cream soda. He is planning on staying there a while. Bill has other plans though. The next morning, Bill decides it is time to get out of this place and start the hike again. Katz is very angry at him for this decision. But alas, they are walking again.

The temperature is rising and the snow turns into melt water. It starts to rain, and rains a lot. The guys are slipping all over the place. They are covered in mud. They are like mud people waddling through the forests. Helping each other up, then falling themselves. It rains and rains like it will never stop. They are soaked to the bone. Everything they have with them is drenched in water. It is not fun at all.

In real life, be prepared for anything. In the book, they were prepared, but not fully. Some people say you can never be fully prepared for something. The guys bring rain jackets. They work, but they make them all sweaty and gunky. But they handle it like men and trek on.