Grandma Gatewood’s Walk

Grandma Gatewood's Walk

Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery

Review by Sarah Newell

Why would a 67-year-old great-grandma leave her house one day to walk the 2,050-mile Appalachian Trail?  Why would she choose to be the first woman to solo thru-hike the trail?  Why would she brave the animals and elements along the trail with nothing more than a light sack containing a few items she deemed necessary?

You’ll have to read Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail to answer the question for yourself.  Author Ben Montgomery does a masterful job of weaving newspaper articles, eye-witness accounts, family interviews and information from Emma Gatewood’s own journal together to paint possible answers to these questions for us.  While the answer is never handed over, we embark on a character study in order to understand the endearing and inspirational Grandma Gatewood.  Continue reading