A Walk in the Woods
Summary
2015’sA Walk In The Woodsincludes some of the most picturesque landscapes of the Appalachian Trail , but the biopic also contains various inaccuracy , despite being base on a leger inspired by a straight tale . The dramedy is just as much an unlikely escapade through one of the world ’s longest trails as it is a story of reconnection between two friends who semi - advisedly lost striking , before realizing only on the lead how much they pretermit each other ’s company . A Walk In The Woodsmanages to be relatively faithful to the book that inspires it , but the film still pack a few inaccuracies about hike up the Appalachian Trail .
A walk of life In The Woods ’ inaccuracies and exaggerations incubate both Bill Bryson ( Robert Redford ) and Stephen Katz ’s ( Nick Nolte ) trip and their preparation . While share early on via Nick Offerman ’s Dave the saying " Take only memories , bequeath only step " that channels the seven Leave No Trace hike principle live in veridical life , A Walk In The Woodstakes many poetical licenses with the realities that the Appalachian Trail involves . A Walk In The Woods ’ journey needing dramatisation to reconcile Bryson and Katz justifies the inaccuracies , but the film still included mass , as highlighted by hiker and writer Jordan Bowman inThe Trek .
Paul Newman and Robert Redford , stars of The Sting and Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid , research for decade for a third picture show to do together .
A Walk In The Woods' Stereotypes About Thru-hikers
It hints most thru-hikers are loners or standoffish
A walking In The Woodsmakes a point to transmit the oddity of Bryson and Katz ’s choice to venture on such a feat , especially compared to other hikers they meet on the way like Mary Ellen . Moreover , Bryson initially wanted to trek the Appalachian Trail going northbound alone but did n’t handle to after Catherine wear him out by telling him the incredible dangers he would have run across . While many set out to fill in the entire Appalachian Trail in both counselling on their own , A Walk In The Woodsdisproportionately focused on solo hikers attempt the effort , with Mary Ellen ’s eccentric embodying the worst stereotypes of the category .
Bowman highlights in The Trek how most set about the thru - hike begin out alone , but often find themselves in groups . However , he also notices how most hikers who exchange more than a couple of Son with Katz and Bryson inA Walk In The Woodstend to be exceptionally incognizant of other people ’s emotion , and Mary Ellen is the staring exemplification of that . Bowman not only shares how he personally meet only one tramper live out of their mode to highlight what was awry with his power train , but also how such a representationwould negatively paint hiker as people want to parry others rather than fancier of the trail they hike up .
A Walk In The Woods Exaggerates The Appalachian Trail’s Dangers
The film’s biggest inaccuracy involved the grizzly bears Katz & Bryson meet
The burden to cue Bryson of the dangers an inexperient hiker such as himself might front on the Appalachian Trail falls to his married woman Cathy , played byEmma Thompson in the flick . While many of the dismemberment and decomposing body news Bryson is forced to read up on by his married woman might have happened while experiencing the out-of-doors , Bowman advise the dangers are greatly magnified . Bryson and Katz even meet Grizzly bears inA Walk In The Woods , but thatcouldn’t have find as only shameful bears populate the area , make the coming upon improbable , albeit a successful dramatization that lead to their rapprochement .
Trail Completion Numbers Are Lower In The Movie Than In Real Life
28% Northbound thru-hikers & 32% Southbound thru-hikers completed the trail in 2022
To deter Bryson , his son shares that less than 10 percentage of tramp complete it , and many 20 - somethings fail it . However , those numbers were exaggerated in 2014 , the year before Redford ’s biopic was expel , and also meliorate with time . Indeed , Bowman report that in 2014 , 26 percent of northbound cost increase and 29 percent of southward ones were completed . concord to theAppalachian Trail Conservancy , 28 pct of hikers completed the northward thru - rise , and 32 percent of them complete the southbound thru - tramp in 2022 . Moreover , while many thru - hikers may be young , the oldest person to nail the Appalachian Trail was 81 - year - old Lee Barry in 2004 , well older than Katz and Bryson .
Robert Redford appeared in several TV shows at the first of his career , and now he ’s returned to working on a small - silver screen project .
A Walk In The Woods Gets Wardrobes & Timings Wrong
Wearing cotton & meeting Southbounders early in the year is highly unlikely
Bryson and Katz don many cotton shirt during their thru - hike , and whileA Walk In The Woodsshows them hurt because of it – because of the snow , rainwater , and precipitate in the river – it would have been very unlikely for them to have such a Brobdingnagian press , and for it to be non - technical . Moreover , they meet a southbounder quite early on in their hike , in April . With most southbounders starting their hikes between May and August , they could n’t have met one before reaching the middle of the track , and they were more south than that , making the encounter very improbable , both for atmospheric condition and lead - related rationality .
The Reasons Behind Ending The Thru-hike Are Misrepresented In The Film
Mental fortitude can play an even bigger role than physical prowess
Katz ask Bryson more than one sentence to stop the hike , even propose to finish it by using a auto . However , they both agree not to complete the Appalachian Trail after they hang down a ravine and patch up their friendship , believing they would have died there had they not been found . Many times inA Walk In The Woods , either other character make input about their poor fitness , or Bryson and Katz themselves blame their naivete for believing someone of their age could have completed the rise . However , it ’s not a deficiency of physical prowess that stimulate many incomplete Appalachian Trail thru - rise in reality .
Bowman highlights how most thru - hikers do n’t complete the Appalachian Trail end - to - end not because of physical problems , but because of the mental fortitude required for the journey . He likens the thru - rise to a “ mental marathon , ” and theAppalachian Trail Conservancyitself also includes among the safety steer pay attention to mental training rather than just worrying about the cogwheel , as “ your genial preparedness and immersion on your surroundings provide your better puppet in responding to situation . ” Katz and Bryson ’s genial enfeeblement accompanied their physical one , butthey put too much vehemence on the latter , not considering the mental preparation such a wage hike would have needed .
A Walk In The Woods Changes A Lot About The Appalachian Trail’s Scenery
Katz & Bryson get too soon to McAfee Knob & there’s no cliffside in the trail
AlthoughA Walk In The Woodsincludes typical landscapes of the Appalachian Trail like McAfee Knob , the order in whichRobert Redford ’s Brysonand Katz chance them is inaccurate . Only after exiting Shenandoah National Park do Katz and Bryson see themselves cease to admireMcAfee Knob , despite the stain being more than 150 miles in the south of the Shenandoah boundary line .
Moreover , the two almost fall off a drop , but unconscionable drops are n’t as large on the Appalachian Trail , and the smaller one that exist can not be found until New Hampshire and Maine . With Katz and Bryson finish in northern Virginia , it would be unlikely for them to find such a drop , making their coming to terms with their mortality rate for sure moving inA Walk In The Woods , but entirely inaccurate to take place in the area .
