simplehiker

My friends on Great Lakes Hikes have pointed out a new AT hiking DVD. This movie is 2 DVDs long and runs 126 minutes long. The director describes the video as;

On March 25th, 2003 my dream of completing a documentary about the AT  became more of a reality. I saved up money for two years and returned to the trail once again. This time, I spent seven months capturing ALL aspects of the Appalachian Trail. I revisited the most memorable parts of the AT with my 65 pound pack. I hiked 1,000 miles to truly document the struggle of man vs. nature. I interviewed current  hikers and learned about their stories and experiences. I videotaped shelters, towns, trail magic, weather, steep climbs, sore feet, eating, and the changing seasons from Georgia to Maine. The documentary show  the highs and lows of long distance hiking while educating people on responsible outdoor recreation. The AT has NEVER been documented  this way, this professional, this thorough, in an exciting and informative story.

The director post that the DVD will soon be avable on Amazon.com but currently the only place to purchase this DVD is at Flagler Films read more about the DVD at Hike More.

A fellow hiker and good friend of mine Andy Mytys has been kind enough to give a review of the DVD.

This DVD is basically a 2-hr plus sterilized description of the AT and the hiking experience.

The cinematography is excellent.  Thankfully, the guy that shot it only jumps in to say "hi" a few times… while he can work a camera and compose a shot very well, his mannerisms while speaking are extremely stiff and fake looking on camera.  Best intentions, but his place is in back of the camera IMO.

What the filmmaker did do is hire a narrator with a very "documentary" sounding voice (think PBS Nova here). The flick definitely is well polished.

By "sterlized" I mean that this film would be good to show non-hiking parents and family worried about you taking off for a thru-hike on the AT.  None of the hardships are shown.  The hikers complain about the
climbs and such, but the fact that long-distance hiking is really hard work and that you have to deal with the elements are hardly mentioned at all.  The film was made in 2003, one of the wettest AT seasons with 30+ STRAIGHT days of rain, and the most that’s shown is a soggy hiker.  Wind? What’s that?  Mud?  Something you step in.  No hiker funk, no dirty clothes, certainly no pot-smoking hippies like in the "2000 Miles to Maine" film.  Oh, and hikers are fed for free by "Trail Magic" THROUGHOUT their hike 

In general, this is a "G-Rated" look at the AT and thru-hiking.  It is a good commercial for the AT and thru-hikers but it is hardly a "primer" on the trail from the standpoint of preparing the neophyte on hiking the AT.  This is definetly an "it’s all fun and games" type of film.

An AT vet may find the film to be rather dull, save for the outstanding images.

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