Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2024 - 31
BOOK NOTE
Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The
Inspiring Story of the Woman Who
Saved the Appalachian Trail. Ben
Montgomery. Chicago Review Press.
2015. 266 pp.
T
here's Bill Bryson's " A Walk
in the Woods. " And Cheryl
Strayed's " Wild. "
And then there's the story of
Emma " Grandma " Gatewood. You'll
finish it having a true understanding
of what it means to be brave, strong,
determined and accomplished.
In 1955, with less than $200 in her
pocket and canvas sneakers on her
feet, 67-year-old Emma Gatewood
left her small Ohio town and headed
south to Oglethorpe Mountain,
Georgia, then the starting point
of the Appalachian Trail. And she
set out to hike the
longest hiking-only
footpath in the world,
telling no one where
she was going.
Exactly 146 days
and more than 2,000
miles later, she stood
atop Mount Katahdin
in Maine, the terminus
of the AT, sang the first verse of
" America the Beautiful, " and spoke
her truth: " I said I'd do it, and I've
done it. "
Thus she became the first woman
to hike the Appalachian Trail alone.
And she did it two more times (the
last time in sections). She hiked with
her belongings in a handsewn cloth
sack, with a shower curtain for rain
protection and a single wool blanket.
Word spread, journalists came
and Gatewood's story was written
up in Sports Illustrated, appeared on
the " Today Show " and in 2015 was
the subject of the Emmy-nominated
movie, " Trail Magic. "
Author Ben Montgomery, Gatewood's
great-great nephew, had
access to her journals and letters,
and interviewed Emma Gatewood's
surviving children. A professional
journalist, Montgomery doesn't shy
away from the grim details of Gatewood's
early life and marriage, rife
with domestic violence.
But it's shining admiration that
fires this book, well-earned and welltold.
Read it, and go hike it.
-JOAN VANNORSDALL
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 31
LEE COUNTY TOBACCO FESTIVAL
in Pennington Gap, VA
October 26, 2024
LEE THEATRE & COMMUNITY CENTER
So much to do & see in our mountain town.
Come experience it with us!
townofpenningtonva.gov
STONE MTN ATV TRAIL - SPEARHEAD TRAILS SYSTEM
DOWNTOWN PARADE
LOCAL ARTISTS
CRAFTER'S ALLEY
FOOD VENDORS
MUSIC STAGE
LONGEST RUNNING TOBACCO
FESTIVAL IN VIRGINIA!
leecountytobaccofestival.org
LEEMAN FIELD RV PARK AND CAMPGROUND
Welcome to
Pennington Gap,
Virginia
http://www.townofpenningtonva.gov
http://www.leecountytobaccofestival.org
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2024
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2024
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2024 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2024 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2024 - 3
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Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2024 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country Sept/Oct 2024 - Cover4
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