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Walkin' with the Ghost Whisperers | 
 enlarge | Author: Junius R. Tate
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Category: Book
List Price: $24.99
Buy New: $16.45
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Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 883889
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 408
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 1.4
ISBN: 1599263777
Dewey Decimal Number: 796
EAN: 9781599263779
ASIN: 1599263777
Publication Date: November 21, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new book! Delivered direct from our US warehouse by Expedited (4-7 days) or Standard (usually 10-14 days but can be longer). Expedited shipping recommended for speedier delivery. Over 1 million satisfied customers
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Product Description
The grand old 'father" of the Appalachian Trail, Benton MacKaye, challenged the nimble-footed sojourners who sought the solitude of the Appalachians 'to see, and to see what you see." Doubletalk? Not on your life! After three thru-hikes of the Appalachian Trail, I came face to face with the dismal conclusion that I really had no clue as to what the great man meant. True, I had 'seen," but I had miserably failed to rise to the second part of Mr. MacKaye's challenge. Belatedly, I discovered that I'd done the miles and had the smiles, but the real 'meat" of the trip remained in the grip of the mountains, firmly locked in a time vault to which I had no key. But there is another side of the coin. Consider the thru-hiker's 'curse": Grind out the harsh, unforgiving miles day by day, state by state, with Mount Katahdin's mid-October closing deadline always hovering in the near-consciousness like a voracious beast. What else can one expect? Most often the hiker pauses, casually remarks, 'Hmmm.I wonder what that's all about?" and continues on. Occasionally, a sparse entry is made in a dirt-smeared journal: Check this out when I get home. It seldom-if ever-happens. The 'real world" quickly grips the jubilant thru-hiker (Dang! I did it! I'm a 2000-miler!) in a mental vise that soon squeezes all motivation to pursue those little innocent journal entries into gooey mush. Over time, good intentions fade and all that's left are the 'miles and smiles"-and a guilt-gilded vacuum that bespeaks of something missing. "Walkin with the Ghost Whisperers" lets the reader step across the threshold of history and walk with the men and women of yesteryear, whose lives impacted on the mountains through which the Trail goes. It's all here: Native American history that crisscrossed the Trail and the myths that birthed legends which flame the imagination.the pioneers who tested the waters and paved the way for future generations of hikers .horrific Civil War battles that were fought where hikers now trod, their boots scuffing ground consecrated by blood and indomitable will.ghosts that refuse to stay buried.Mary the Elephant whose demise sullied a town.the good, the bad, and the ugly. And much more! Whether the reader hungers for a platter of historical entertainment or seeks to nourish the 'miles and smiles" from a previous hike, "Walkin with the Ghost Whisperers" is the book. Both trails lead to the same destination: To see, and to see what you see! Author's Note Benton MacKaye was a remarkable man. His 'beyond the horizon" vision of a footpath stretching along the high crests of America's Blue Ridge eventually became reality when the Appalachian Trail opened to 'foot travel only" in 1937. He admonished those who wound their way over peaks and valleys heretofore accessible only to the most hardy and daring to '.see, and to see what you have seen." Well, when I first read these words, they made about as much sense as dribbling mustard on a jelly doughnut. If you saw something, you just saw it. Period. What an idiot I was! On a fine summer day in 1998, on my third thru-hike, I stopped at a spring in a pretty little glade to air my aching hoofers-Pennsylvania rocks are murder, you know. While I sat there guzzling cold sweet water, my eyes strayed to a nearby aged stone marker. Its sparse wording let me know that my gratification came from Pilger Ruh Spring, where Count Zinzen-something-or-other and one Conrad Weiser had also quenched their thirst in 1742. Model-T, my pesky alter ego, whose sole mission in life is to make mine miserable, piped up, Hey Diddlebrain, what's a Pilger Ruh? Damned if I knew, but I wasn't about to let him-or 'it" (I've never gotten a handle on our weird relationship)-have the satisfaction of calling me an ignoramus. Well Mr. Stupid, if you knew anything at all, you'd know it's a German term meaning 'place to cool your beer." And that's when the realization suddenly penetrated my Kentucky tow-headed c
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| Customer Reviews:
Walkin' with the Ghost Whisperers September 18, 2008
Old "Model T" does it again!
If you like the Appalachian Trail and interesting tales, this book has it all.
An excellent read.
There is So Much More to the Trail January 20, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
As my wife and I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2006, there were innumerable times when we came upon a relic from the past, and sensing that there was a memorable story behind it, wondered what that story might be. From the memorial for hermit, Nick Grindsatff, fashioned from the rubble of his old cabin to the Civil War signifigance of the Shelton graves, J.R. Tate's extensively researched stories serve to fill in those historic gaps that we A.T. hikers walk by, year after year.
I only wish that this book had been written before we thru-hiked the trail so that we understood the significance of those historic milestones. But, then again, not knowing, and only finding out later through "Model T's" book, added to the mystery of hiking the trail.
For those who have already hiked all, or part of the Appalachian Trail, this book is a wonderful way to reminisce about those days on the trail, from a totally different persepctive. For those who are planning to hike the A.T., "Walkin with the Ghost Whisperers" is a wonderful way to learn about the rich history and human drama that still dwells along the trail. And if you are simply a history buff, who craves unique stories about America's past, and the trail that ties all those stories together,I highly recommend this book.
An AT must read June 25, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
If hiking the Appalachian Trail haunts your dreams, then Walkin' with the Ghost Whisperers is the book to buy. I'm bummed this book wasn't written sooner. Because if I had known J.R.Tate's tales behind the trail, my 1999 thru-hike would have been a much richer experience.
Written by a three-time AT thru-hiker, Walkin'with the Ghost Whisperers delves into the most intriguing events that have occurred along America's most famous trail. "I hike. I see. I wonder." is Tate's oft refrain as he takes us on a journey that is as entertaining as it is enlightening.
For example, just off the trail, on a high ridge in Tennessee, Tate comes upon a mysterious tomb, reads the unbearably sad epitaph "Lived alone. Suffered alone. Died alone." and writes:
"Three times I had stopped in the small glen, stared at the chimney-like protuberance, and wondered about the man buried beneath the aging concrete slab whose life had evoked the tragic words etched in the faded granite. The question flooded in like a rip tide, tugging at my imagination and thrusting my mind against an impenetrable barrier of ignorance. Who was this man? What events brought him to this lonely end?"
Thus, Tate begins to pry from obscurity the story of Nick Grindstaff, a man once referred to as the South's most famous hermit and who kept rattlesnakes as pets.
"Most of Nick's life is hidden in the ground alongside his decaying bones and in the graves of folks now long dead who new him...Hard to believe that in this wild, forsaken place now broached by the Appalachian Trail, a man lived for nearly half a century isolated from the human race. Here, Nick eked out a meager existence in rocky soil hardly fit for earthworms, sharing his days and night with four-legged critters and slithering companions while the world passed him by."
Darn good writing, I must say. The depth of Tate's research is remarkable. His sense of humor is ever-present. And best of all, J.R. Tate aka "Model T" is the real deal, a seasoned long distance hiker with 10,000 miles on his feet. Chockfull of hiker lore and AT history, Walkin' with the Ghost Whispers is the book Bill Bryson's Walk in the Woods should have been.
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