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Section/Pages: Chapters 11-15
Members Present: Jake Settanni, Alex Stoyer, Jack Rutkowski, and Daniel Santos

Discussion Highlights:
- The importance of family is extremely prominent in Bryson’s life shown by his immediate dropping of everything to embrace his family once he saw them.
-  Bryson’s determination is shown greatly by his return to the part of the trail that he skipped to fully complete the trail
- We thought it was very interesting how Bryson stood and wanted to set up Camp right were two young women were killed a month later. How would the story have changed if Bryon started his hike a month later than he did? Would he have been killed?
- We thought it was dry interesting how Katz was not fazed by the bear due to his true exhaustion, so much that he slept when Bryson was freaking out about the Bear.
- We thought it was very interesting that Bryson decided that he would not hike by car anymore, how he did not like skipping parts of the trail.

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Stay on task

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Section/Pages: Chapters 1-5
Members Present: Jake Settanni, Alex Stoyer, and Jack Rutkowski

Discussion Highlights:
- Greatly explained how the Appalachian Trail is not exactly measured or mapped out. It’s so long that no one can measure it exactly.
- Very interesting how Bryson was looking to be joined by anyone on the trail, even with someone he barely knew or liked (Katz). Also how he would go back for him when he trailed behind
- It seemed that Bryson was somewhat babysitting his partner Katz, as most of the things that had to be done, set up tents and Cooked food, was done by Bryson.
- His reading of all the books that contain catastrophes may foreshadow what happens to him during his trail on the Appalachians
- How the Appalachian trail is run mainly by volunteers, and how everyone they meet on the trail looked to help them.

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Name: Jake Settanni
Email: 25440js@chaminade-hs.org

Name: Daniel Santos
Email: 25347ds@chaminade-hs.org

Name: Alex Stoyer
Email: 25380as@chaminade-hs.org

Name: Jack Rutkowski
Email: 25342jr@chaminade-hs.org

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Section/Pages: Chapters 16-21
Members Present: Jake Settanni, Alex Stoyer, Daniel Santos

Discussion Highlights:
- We all liked the book and would recommend to others because it was very unpredictable and it shared a lot about the nature of our country that we didn’t know.
-  Bill mentions that he gets to “come home” after his hike. This feeling is so powerful for him because of how much he struggled and how long his journey was.
-  Even though Bill did not truly hike the entire Appalachian Trail he did accomplish hiking the Appalachian trail as they tried.
- Both Katz and Bill have become very close over this trail. This is clearly shown when they both save the others life when they travel and fall in the murky water.
- Bill has gained a much greater respect for nature as well as an understanding for how large the world is, we as the reader also feel this scale.

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Section/Pages: Chapters 6-10
Members Present: Jake Settanni, Alex Stoyer, Daniel Santos, and Jack Rutkowski

Discussion Highlights:
- The behavior of the travelers that surrounded Bryson and Katz, we think, greatly gave them a boost of confidence for their hike.
- It seems that all of the hikers on the Appalachian Trail wanted everyone on it to be safe and greatly encouraged everyone on the trail, shown by the logbook at one of the cabins along the Trail.
- We were very concerned that the Nation Park Service seemed to hinder the great nature and endanger many animals of national parks including the Appalachian mountains, as they are supposed to maintain the wildlife, and beauty of the national parks.
- We are very confused why he would narrate his experience even though they are not gonna hike the whole Appalachia Trail.
- It seemed very interesting how many of the plants in the Americas were discovered by the same people, even though their were many doing it at the same time.

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Meeting 1 Date: 10/3
Pages / Section: Chapters 1-5

Meeting 2 Date: 10/13
Pages / Section: Chapters 6-10

Meeting 3 Date: 10/23
Pages / Section: Chapters 11-15

Meeting 4 Date: 11/1
Pages / Section: Chapters 16-21

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Engage with group at all times

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What effect does loneliness have on travelers on the trail?

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In chapter 6, Katz said “I think that I’d like to have a long hot soak in a Jacuzzi, a big steak dinner with a baked potato and lots of sour cream in front of a roaring fire at a ski resort.” This quote is important because it shows that they wanted to give up already even though they were so early into the journey. Also, it shows how difficult the journey was even if you were prepared.

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Be prepared to discuss the assigned reading

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What was his reasoning to go on the journey voluntarily and without anyone he enjoyed spending time with?

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At the end of chapter 9 Katz says “Jeez, it’s ugly”. Katz says this in response to their return to the commercial world and their view of the “gas stations, Wal-Marts, Kmarts, Dunkin Donuts, Blockbuster Videos”, as they decided to skip a part of the Appalachian Trail. This realization hits Katz because, for a very long time they were in the woods and they witnessed the great natural beauty of the trail, compared to the industrialized cities that they were used to before the start.

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If all the equipment and preparation for going on the trail was so hard, and the trail is so dangerous, why does he still want to do it?

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Why would he choose to go on this trail without anyone he is close to. If the trail is so dangerous and difficult to prepare for should he go?

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1. We all read and had great things to share about the book.
2.We all need to read more closely and bring up more facts about it.
3. We all agreed that the Appalachian Trail is very dangerous and that if Bryson went alone he would have quit the trail by now, as. Companionship is very important when doing something challenging as your partner can lift you up when your down and vice versa.

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https://forms.gle/cCJbHs6scjgEERui7

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Access Google Forms with a personal Google account or Google Workspace account (for business use).

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In chapter seven Bryson describes their current living arrangements, “Each night, we stopped in leaky cow barns … all cold and damp and shuffling, giant and half mad from ceaseless rain and the cheerlessness of wet hiking.”(Bryson 99)
This quote shows just how rough the conditions they lived in were and the mental tolls of this journey, that hiking the Appalachian Trail is not just a physical challenge, but a mental one.

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1 Brainstorm a LIST OF THEMES for the book thus far. Then, select one theme from the list and find at least three pieces of textual evidence to support it. 1

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1. We did pretty well as a group overall. There were some days that we didn’t have the best discussions because we were all at different points in the book, but we had very good discussions overall that were interesting.
2. The main idea of how they never finished the trail, Bryson only hiked around 875 miles of the trail, but they still learned great things about the wilderness and nature.
The idea of the mental toughness needed to actually finish the hike.
3. As a creative project, we can research other people who have actually finished the trail and explain their experience.

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“My room was basic and battered—there were cigarette burns on every possible surface, including the toilet seats and door lintels… I called Katz… and learned that his room is even worse. We were very happy” I picked this quote because i shows how despite the horrible conditions of the motel they’re staying at, they still see it as great due to them being in the woods for several days.

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1. We predict they’re going to make it to the end of the trail event though their will be many things holding them back and challenges along the way.
2. To ensure we conclude the book club effectively, we must all read and finish the book with important information to share and an overall opinion of the book.

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1. We all like the book because it is based on nature and has an interesting conflict that the travelers have to overcome.
2. We can all make sure that we actually read to the full checkpoint for each book even though it’s hard to all be at the same point.