A Walk in the Woods: Chapter 8 Summary & Analysis

Gatlinburg is 15 harrowing downhill miles from Clingman’s Peak. Luckily, Bryson successfully persuades a group of reluctant teens into driving them there. Bryson finds Gatlinburg appallingly ugly. It seems to thrive off people who say they want to see nature in the mountains but really just want to play miniature golf and eat bad food near the mountains. Despite this, Bryson and Katz are thrilled to arrive. They check into a motel and head to an overpriced burger joint. The town is full of overweight tourists with cameras; everyone eats junk food, piles into Gatlinburg’s mini-malls, and plays mini golf. Bryson notes that the attractions will likely be replaced by similar nondescript ones, “for that is the way in America.” 

Bryson is astounded by the rate of commercial growth in the United States. In 1951, Gatlinburg only had one general store. By the 1990s, it has 100 motels and 400 gift stores. This is common in the United States. The next town over, Pigeon Forge, now houses Dolly Parton’s theme park and 200 outlet stores. Meanwhile, in 1996—the year of Bryson and Katz’s hike—the Appalachian Trail is 59 years old. Few highways have lasted that long.

Bryson spots a map of the Appalachian Trail in a shoe store. On the map’s scale, the whole Trail is four feet six inches high. Suddenly, Bryson realizes that so far, they’ve only covered the first two inches. Both Bryson and Katz are stunned. They sit in silence thinking about their grueling days and weary evenings. It’s immediately obvious that they’re never going to hike the whole Trail—and strangely, the realization is liberating. Enlivened by the possibilities this opens up, they pore over their maps deciding on the parts of the Trail they do want to hike. At first, they decide to pick up the Trail a bit further on, past the Smokies.

Bryson calls around to inquire about cab fare to Ernestville, 20 miles up the road, but he’s dumbfounded when none of the drivers know how much that will cost. He grows irate as Katz warns him that his attitude won’t help them get a cab. Eventually, one cab driver agrees to swing by later and drive them. Based on their conversation, Bryson thinks that the guy is an idiot. When they arrive at a motel, Bryson reads a newspaper as they wait outside the office. He learns about legislation to ban teaching evolution in schools and start teaching Creationism.  Suddenly, Bryson decides that he doesn’t want to be this far south anymore, and he suggests picking up the Trail at the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia instead. Katz is ecstatic about skipping a large slog of the hike.