Fun Detour - A Walk in the Woods

This week’s blog was about my attempts – over several years – to hike the Lye Brook Trail outside of Manchester, Vermont. So, for this week’s Fun Detour, I chose A Walk in the Woods, the 2015 film starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte, based on the book by the same title by Bill Bryson.

In my family, this film has been enjoyed by multiple generations. My children, my parents, and I all enjoy this movie. There are few movies that hold the same appeal for people of different ages. My children might be outliers, but they have watched it with me on more than one occasion, and it is rare to find a movie that resonates across generations, but this one does.  

The story follows a writer who, feeling the need for an adventure later in life, decides to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. He finds an unlikely travel companion in a friend from his past. What follows includes misadventures, interesting characters, and reflections finding the path for you, not to mention a great soundtrack that heavily features the band, Lord Huron.

Like my own travel experiences, this film reminds me that the journey often matters more than the destination – whether you make it there or not. Often, it is the side trips, the conversations, and the people we are with that make a trip unforgettable.