"'What the Lord didn't provide, I did. One day I was walking down the road and came upon a tin can. I turned it over a couple times with the tip of my cane and found a full, unopened can of beef stew. Opened it with my knife, and dined real well that night.'"
-Grandma Gatewood, Grandma Gatewood's Walk, p.204, by Ben Montgomery
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I enjoy walking and hiking, so I "get" some of the reasons that Emma Gatewood, age 67, decided to hike the entire Appalachian Trail beginning in Georgia in the year 1955. She did not take a map, a tent, or a sleeping bag. she only took a blanket, a raincoat, a walking stick, a pair of ordinary sneakers, a little bit of money, and a few other small items that she carried in her homemade bundle. But why did she abruptly leave her home in Gallia County, Ohio without telling her 11 children or anyone else where she was going? Emma Gatewood was a Great-Grandma who just loved to walk and enjoyed the great outdoors so much that she decided one day that she would "go for a walk" just for the same of walking. She was blind without her thick gasses, and she needed her set of false teeth, but she was in great health for a woman her age so she didn't see any reason why she couldn't go on a very long walk.
Along her trip, Grandma met many kinds of people who gave her shelter or a hot meal. But many nights she made a bed of leaves and slept in the open air, realizing that the leaves made a very nice bed. She shared cabins with all sorts of hikers, people such as boy scouts, hunters, or reporters. She was friendly and outgoing, and so she wasn't hesitant to ask people for food, a place to sleep, or a ride to a nearby motel. And she was never afraid. She seemed to trust everyone, and she never feared for her life. She didn't even seem to be afraid of wild animals, but a porcupine did try to sleep in her leaf bed one night. Every now and then she would mail a postcard to her children just to let them know that she was having a great time and was in good health. To Emma Gatewood, her historic hike was "just a walk," but she did it because she had never enjoyed anything about her hard, abusive life with her husband. The long hike was something she wanted to do for herself, something she saw as a great vacation. Eventually reporters got wind of her trip. They began to show up at various points along the trail to ask for a photo. Of course, they always had questions for her as well. The trail of 2,050 miles was out there, and Grandma wanted to see every bit of it so she flew to Georgia and began her adventure.
Emma Gatewood had a hard life. Her abusive husband beat her nearly to death several times, so one day she decided it was the last time. She filed for a divorce and got rid of him for good, well before she hiked the trail. She had endured unimaginable beatings and a hard life on the farm, so she thought walking the trail would be much easier than those experiences, so she set off. She faced challenges such as the time she broke her glasses, and getting through parts of the trail were sometimes very difficult. She noted later on that the A.T. wasn't as well-carved out as advertised, and many of the shelter huts were in bad disrepair. So she noted the areas of the trail that needed to be worked on and improved. Emma Gatewood went on to hike the trail two more times, more than any other woman in America. She became a sort of folk hero, leading parades and making guest appearances in many settings. Articles and such were written about her extraordinary adventures, and she received gifts of clothing, meals, and more.
In the front of the book by Montgomery there are some great quotes that I'd like to share here. They are...
"We do not go into the woods to rough it; we go to smooth it. We get it rough enough at home." -George Washington Sears
"Now or never." -Henry David Thoreau
And Emma Gatewood said of herself, "I get faster as I get older." And she was pretty darn fast!
I think you'll enjoy this book that came out just three years ago. It's about a woman who thought she was just an ordinary lady who liked to walk, yet she was so much more. You don't need expensive hiking supplies like boots from R.E.I., R.T.E. rations, a tent, and other things in order to do what she did, you just need to want to do it. And don't be afraid of the unknown. That's what she would tell us today. She was 85 years old when she died peacefully in 1973.
What's on the bestseller list today? Below you'll find pictures of the current shelves at a bookstore chain. Have you read some of them? I've read Hillbilly Elegy, A Man Called Ove, Lilac Girls, The Circle, The Nest, The Shack, and All the Light We Cannot See. I've written about these books in the past couple of years as well. The Circle will hit the big screen in a couple of weeks, so look for this film starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks. This science fiction book and movie will really make you think about your personal privacy and how the world is changing rapidly. Also, if you have HBO look for the movie version of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Laks. Sure wish I had HBO! I was intrigued by this true story about how an African-American woman's cancer cells were used long after her death. Have a blessed Easter and a beautiful Spring.
-Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com
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