A Comparison of Hiking Communities on the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails

Fondren, Kristi M.; Brinkman, Richard

doi:10.1080/01490400.2019.1597789

Cited by 17 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Over half of the respondents were male (66.8%). Most individuals were residents of the United States (93.4%) and identified as White (91.9%) (Table 1), similar to previous A.T. user studies (Fondren & Brinkman, 2019). The majority of respondents thru-hiked on the Trail (Table 2).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 82%

Food Storage on the Appalachian Trail: A Theory of Planned Behavior Approach to Understanding Backpacker Bear Canister Use

Freeman

Lawhon²,

Newman

et al. 2021

Journal of Interpretation Research

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Improper food storage fuels human-bear conflicts in parks and protected areas around the globe. Bear-resistant food storage canisters provide an extremely effective solution for reducing food-related human-bear conflicts, especially for overnight visitors in backcountry settings. However, the success of this intervention depends on recreationists’ willingness to use and comply with such food storage methods. This study used internet-based surveys to identify Appalachian Trail backpackers’ attitudes, norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions regarding the use of bear canisters through an application of the Theory of Planned Behavior. Results indicate attitudes and subjective norms provide potential leverage points for messaging under voluntary conditions; messaging incorporating attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control may help influence food storage behavior under required conditions. Specific recommendations for effective, theory-based interpretation strategies aimed at reducing human-black bear conflicts on the Appalachian Trail are provided.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 82%

Food Storage on the Appalachian Trail: A Theory of Planned Behavior Approach to Understanding Backpacker Bear Canister Use

Freeman

Lawhon²,

Newman

et al. 2021

Journal of Interpretation Research

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show abstract

“…Her account emphasises life on the trail itself, where paper-and-ink journals, whether communal or personal, still play a major role in recording and communicating hikers' experiences. 4 Hikers' digital representations are relegated to a subsidiary position, supporting this utilitarian communication of experience. Writing, for example, about the "numerous hiker webpages, trail journals, or other sites", she notes these are used for "shar[ing] stories about their experiences and offer[ing] advice on hiking the trail".…”

Section: Appalachian Writing Moves Onlinementioning

confidence: 99%

Appalachian Hikers’ Digital Journals

McLaughlin

2022

Transfers

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The Appalachian Trail—a hiking trail in the eastern United States—is for many an icon of the American wilderness experience. It is an unruly landscape, one which is yearly being re-made, re-marked, and “reclaimed” to wilderness. Within its corridor of trees, the Appalachian Trail hides decaying farms bought by forced purchase, ghosts of old cemeteries, and many different paths through the trees. There is a palpable sense of possibility, of constant change, and of what could have been. In this article, drawing on recent research in cultural geography which emphasizes the unsettled and unsettling nature of landscape, I will introduce the potential for new, digital literary-spatial forms made on the Appalachian Trail to write and to enact this unruly landscape.

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“…Nonetheless, the journey along the path is a cultural act 'since it is following in the steps inscribed by others whose steps have worn a conduit for movement which becomes the correct or "best way to go"' (Tilley 1994: 31). The fleeting contact on the route, along with the sharing of their experiences on internet sites after the journey and providing future hikers with tips and practical information, give hikers a sense of belonging to a subculture (Fondren and Brinkman 2022), an imagined community that transcends national borders.…”

Section: Challenges Solitude and Self-realisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hiking the Via Alpina

Atari,

Feldman

2023

Anthropological Journal of European Cultures

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Can long-distance hiking present an alternative to the mechanisation, uncertainty and alienation of contemporary European life? Through interviews with hikers on the Via Alpina in the European Alps, we explore this question, applying Ning Wang's insights on tourism as exemplifying the ambivalence of modernity. Modern technologies increase communications, mobility and efficiency, while enabling leisure space for tourism. Via Alpina hikers do not ‘opt out’ of the social frameworks governed by Logos modernity but undertake solitary walking in search of an intrapersonal existential authenticity by reconnecting with nature, the body and an alternative experience of time. The Logos-directed elements of planning and navigating through digital devices are limited to the essential required to progress on the path and enable them to inhabit smooth time, free of the restrictive syncopations of work schedules and pressing obligations. Thus, hikers harness Logos modernity to enhance the Eros space of sensuality and emotional release. Through knowledge learned along the way, hikers strive for a positive, responsible freedom that broadens their sense of being in the world.

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A Comparison of Hiking Communities on the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails

Cited by 17 publications

References 32 publications

Food Storage on the Appalachian Trail: A Theory of Planned Behavior Approach to Understanding Backpacker Bear Canister Use

Food Storage on the Appalachian Trail: A Theory of Planned Behavior Approach to Understanding Backpacker Bear Canister Use

Appalachian Hikers’ Digital Journals

Hiking the Via Alpina

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