Janine Marill Post 1

Initially, Bryson is desperate for a hiking partner. He put notes in his Christmas cards about the trip, hoping that someone would volunteer to join him. Bryson is understandably apprehensive about the idea of hiking alone; he spends an entire chapter discussing the dangers of the Appalachian Trail.

Katz is the only person who is interested in hiking the Appalachian Trail with Bryson. Katz and Bryson hiked together in Europe twenty-five years before the Appalachian Trail excursion. Bryson has only seen Katz a few times since the trip, but he trusts Katz because they were a successful pair on their European hike. The Appalachian Trail hike is important to Bryson, and he needs a partner, so he decides to go on the trip with Katz.

When Bryson meets Katz at the local airport, he immediately realizes that Katz might not be the ideal partner for this trip. Katz has gained weight, and he is out of shape. Bryson doesn’t want to hurt Katz’s feelings, and he still needs a partner for his trip.

During the hike, Katz lags far behind Bryson. At first, Bryson waits for Katz to catch up. Bryson soon becomes too impatient to actually wait for Katz; he just waits until he can see Katz behind him. Bryson eventually becomes so impatient that he doesn’t wait for Katz at all.

Finally, out of a sense of loyalty and concern, Bryson goes looking for Katz. Bryson discovers that Katz has had a crisis; Katz became so frustrated with carrying a full pack that he threw several items into the woods. Bryson steps outside his impatient nature in this situation; he says that he was “trying not to show too much alarm” when he asked Katz what he threw out. Instead of being angry, Bryson is encouraging; he tells Katz that “you haven’t got too far to go.” Bryson is loyal to Katz; he is willing to put up with frustration in order to make their partnership go smoothly.