The walk in the woods

Writer Bill Bryson starts to feel old and decides to hike the Appalachian Trail. The famous hiking trail stretches 3500 kilometers through the wild backyards of 14 American states from Georgia in the south to Maine in the north.

Bill, played by Robert Redford, hopes to make the hike in peace and quiet, but when the only person who wants to go with him is his old friend Katz, played by Nick Nolte, things don't turn out quite the way he expected.

The mismatched and initially very inexperienced hiking couple have very different definitions of adventure. However, they eventually discover that it is when you reach the limit of what you can do that the real fun begins.

Of course, movies with bickering older men who are forced to build a functioning team when they fall outside their respective comfort zones have been made before and in a better way. Still, what makes the movie worth watching is simply the luminosity of the heavy lead actors and the beautiful images of the Appalachian Trail's surroundings, which are the backdrops of many hikers' dreams.

The movie is based on a best-selling book of the same name published in 1998.

Hikers who attempt to complete the entire 3500 kilometers of the Appalachian Trail in a single season are called 'thru-hikers'. Difficult terrain, extreme weather, the risk of injury and the time and effort required mean that only 30% of those who attempt the challenge are successful.

Going all the way normally takes five to seven months, although some do it much faster. The current speed record is 46 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes.

Individual sections of the trail are, of course, more common and there are beautiful walks that can be done in an hour or a couple of days. Read more at www.appalachiantrail.org