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Amicalola Falls<\/a>: \u00a0You can see these Falls hiking up to Springer Mountain<\/a>, \u201csouthern terminus of the Appalachian Trail<\/a>,\u201d as seen in the 2015 movie,\u00a0A Walk in the Woods<\/a><\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n September, 2015 – Last September 6, a Sunday afternoon, I went to see A Walk in the Woods<\/a>. The \u201cAmerican adventure<\/a> comedy<\/a> biopic film<\/a>,\u201d based on the 1998 memoir by Bill Bryson<\/a>. According to Wikipedia, Robert Redford<\/a> plays Bryson, \u201cnow in his late 50s or early 60s.\u201d The movie has Bryson decide to hike the whole Appalachian Trail in one fell swoop<\/a>. (2,200 miles, and after living in Britain the past 20 years.)That in itself requires a hefty suspension of disbelief<\/a>.<\/p>\n You see, in the film Redford \u2013 born in 1936 \u2013 looks to be all<\/em><\/strong> of his 79 years of \u00a0age. And he now seems to be \u201cpaying the price for all that ultraviolet glare on the ski slopes,\u201d as one reviewer said. \u00a0(And noted below<\/em>.) The same critic said of Nick Nolte \u2013 Redford\u2019s hiking buddy in the film \u2013 that the \u201chandsomely rough-hewn star of North Dallas Forty<\/a>\u00a0looks more like a ruddy-faced\u00a0Yeti<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n But another critic put this positive spin on the film (also on September 6):<\/p>\n With its odd-couple cast and appeal to grown-up audiences, \u201cA Walk in the Woods\u201d has performed solidly at the box office since its debut on Wednesday. \u00a0As of Saturday morning [September 5] it had grossed about $10 million.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In college he\u2019d spent two summers on the Trail as a ridgerunner<\/a>. (Someone hired to hike various sections of the trail, and\/or \u201ctally hiker traffic, monitor trail and campsite conditions, and generally help visitors navigate and understand the A.T.\u201d)<\/p>\n So I suppose I should note my own<\/em><\/strong> personal interest in the movie.<\/p>\n Back in 1967 \u2013 I was 16 \u2013 my next-older brother and I hatched the idea of hiking the Trail from Springer Mountain to Gettysburg<\/a>, where our aunt and uncle lived, \u00a0 (Some 623 miles. \u00a0My brother was a year or two older.<\/em>)\u00a0 For some reason my parents didn\u2019t bust out laughing. (And didn\u2019t say “Are you serious<\/a>?”\u00a0 Or \u00a0slap their knees while wiping away tears of laughter\u2026)<\/em><\/p>\n Instead they thought it was a great idea. \u00a0(Apparently.)<\/p>\n So in the early summer of 1967 my brother and I found ourselves dropped off at\u00a0Amicalola Falls State Park<\/a>, gateway to Springer Mountain. \u00a0(Dropped off by our oldest<\/em> brother, a student at Georgia Tech at the time.) \u00a0Which brings up one key difference. \u00a0(To me anyway…)<\/p>\n Back in 1967 we didn’t seen any “magic archway” at our<\/em><\/strong> Amicalola Falls entrance to the Approach Trail. \u00a0(Nor did we see a paved path of any kind.) \u00a0The park at the time was extremely<\/em> primitive… \u00a0But first, a note about my brother and quitting. \u00a0(Not unlike Redford and Nolte.<\/em>)<\/p>\n The thing is,\u00a0metal-frame backpacks were all the rage back in 1967. \u00a0But as we found out, they had a tendency to chisel great gouges of flesh in one’s lower back. \u00a0See also\u00a0Why Internal Frame Backpacks<\/a>, on the “shift away from external frame backpacks.” \u00a0The article added:<\/p>\n The downsides to externals are that, because they carry the weight high and away from your back, they don\u2019t have the best stability. \u00a0So, you run the risk of feeling tippy and off-balance … climbing or descending dicey terrain [and] you\u2019ll likely get hung up on branches and brush… \u00a0I can\u2019t remember the last time I saw a new or innovative external.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But it was the “flesh-gouging” that caused my brother and I to reconsider our plans after a single afternoon. \u00a0 On the other hand, our oldest “Tech brother” couldn’t come back and pick us up until the following<\/em> weekend. \u00a0So we were stranded, but we ended up spending a quite pleasant \u2013 and isolated \u2013 week of tent camping, away<\/em> from adult supervision.<\/p>\n I suppose there’s some kind of\u00a0object lesson<\/a>\u00a0there. \u00a0(See also kismet<\/a>.)<\/p>\n But we were talking about the “magic archway” featured in the movie, but not<\/strong><\/em> seen by us back in 1967. \u00a0Which is another way of saying that at least one<\/em> entrance to the Approach Trail has become \u201call touristy<\/a>.\u201d \u00a0(Again, at least as seen in the film.) On the other hand, the 8.8-mile hike from there up to Springer Mountain is<\/em><\/strong> all uphill, as Redford and Nolte noted in the film. \u00a0(See\u00a0AT Approach Trail \u2026 to Springer Mountain<\/a>: \u00a0\u201cThe AT Approach Trail climbs solidly uphill, departing Black Gap to hike the lower elevations of Springer Mountain\u2019s southern slope.\u201d)<\/p>\n Which in turn could be a metaphor for the uphill battle the film faces at the hands of critics.<\/p>\n At best the film has gotten mixed reviews. \u00a0One site called it \u201camiable yet less compelling\u201d than a movie with Robert Redford and Nick Nolte should<\/em><\/strong> be. \u00a0(Also, \u201cultimately a bit too<\/em> pedestrian,\u201d possible pun intended.) \u00a0And critic\u00a0Susan Wloszczyna<\/a> asked this musical question:<\/p>\n There is only one question that you need to ask yourself before deciding to see \u201cA\u00a0Walk\u00a0in the\u00a0Woods:\u201d \u00a0Can you justify sitting through an utterly predictable and rather tame man vs. nature ramble in order to enjoy the affable odd-couple chemistry shared by Robert Redford<\/a>and Nick Nolte<\/a>?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n See A Walk in the Woods Movie Review (2015)<\/a>, at Roger Ebert.com<\/a>.\u00a0 (Ebert<\/a> himself died in 2013, of complications from his earlier\u00a0papillary thyroid cancer<\/a>.\u00a0 See Wikipedia<\/a>.)<\/p>\n One possible answer is that Ms. Wloszczyna<\/a>\u00a0is more into chick flicks<\/a>. She compared the film negatively with \u201cReese Witherspoon<\/a> in last year\u2019s \u2018Wild<\/a>.’\u201d \u00a0(As shown in the movie poster at left):<\/p>\n Witherspoon in her Oscar-nominated role struggled with her inner demons as much as she did the elements, [but] \u201cA Walk in the Woods\u201d is more about two unlikely acquaintances\u2026 Redford\u2019s wry Bryson \u2026 tired of resting on his considerable laurels \u2026 is in a funk after attending a funeral. \u00a0That is when he spies a marker for the Georgia-to-Maine trail\u2026 \u00a0\u00a0Against the wishes of his sensible British wife \u2026 Emma Thompson<\/a>\u00a0\u2026 he decides on a whim to attempt this marathon test of endurance and picks Katz to join him \u2013 primarily because none of his other friends are crazy enough to say yes.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cTired of resting on his considerable laurels?\u201d \u00a0(A metaphor perhaps?<\/em>) \u00a0\u201cAgainst the wishes of his sensible wife?\u201d \u00a0\u201cDecides on a whim?\u201d \u00a0Ms. Wloszczyna<\/a>\u00a0could as easily have come out and said plainly \u2013 to Bryson and every other potential geezer over 65 \u2013 \u201cSlow down. \u00a0Pack your manhood in cotton wool. \u00a0Smother your impulses. \u00a0Why don\u2019t you just [expletive deleted<\/a><\/em>] give up<\/strong>?<\/strong><\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n The upper image is courtesy of\u00a0Amicalola Falls State Park \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a><\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n Re: \u00a0\u201cat the hands of the critics.\u201d \u00a0Wikipedia<\/a>\u00a0noted: \u00a0\u201cWalk in the Woods <\/strong>has received mixed reviews from critics. \u00a0On Rotten Tomatoes<\/a>, the film holds a rating of 46%, based on 104 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4\/10. \u00a0The site\u2019s critical consensus reads, \u201cAmiable yet less compelling than any road trip movie starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte should be, A Walk in the Woods<\/strong> is ultimately a bit too pedestrian.\u201d\u00a0 On Metacritic<\/a>, the film has a score of 51 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating \u201cmixed or average reviews.\u201d\u00a0 On CinemaScore<\/a>, audiences gave the film an average grade of \u2018B\u2019 on an A+ to F scale.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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See\u00a0Fact-Checking \u201cA Walk in the Woods<\/a>.\u201d \u00a0 The reviewer \u2013\u00a0John Jurgensen<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 then noted his personal <\/em>interest in the movie.<\/p>\n\n
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To be continued…<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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