STORY INFO
Out of Place on the Appalachian Trail
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Author
Aeris Walker
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Categories
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Danh mục
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Update
6 months ago
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Part Chapter
1/??
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Reads
137
Content
My backpack weighs 31 pounds, and it barely fit into the trunk of Jen and Steve’s Honda. I don’t think they believed I was actually going through with this until I called and asked for a ride up the mountain. Jen gave me that look, that pitying, tight-lipped smile, but she helped Steve and I load up my things, and then they bought me lunch before dropping me off at the trailhead. Jen cried, and Steve gave me a...
Outstanding reviews
Saying something in “as few of words as possible” is definitely a skill Reedsy has pushed me to hone. Hyphens are lifesavers. I love hearing your thoughts on/reactions to all the lines you pulled out. And thank you for reading so intentionally; I greatly appreciate it!
em dash*
Oh my. Great story I see why you won!
Oh my. Great story I see why you won!
I think your sweet comment was my good luck charm, J.C. Thanks for taking me through *your* range of emotions as you read 😉
congrats on that win! well-deserved.
congrats on that win! well-deserved.
Thank you very much, Rebecca. I appreciate you reading, and I love your takeaway from the ending.
Poignancy done loud and proud and rightly acknowledged. Well done. It's long overdue; you should have won for a couple of other recent ones (the remake of the Bare Necessities springs to mind). Raise a glass for this one; very well deserved.
Aw, thank you so much, Rebecca. I was thinking that about your mountain story and surprised not to see it today. It definitely deserves another chance, and I’m sure there plenty of literary journal that would scoop it right up. Truly.
The thing with all magazines or platforms is they'll always restrict how often you can even be shortlisted. You could write like Austen, Shakespeare or Poe and if you'd been shortlisted the week before you'd still get nowhere! Any chance you'd know of any other sites/ journals I could submit to? I only know of one British magazine! Need to get more market savvy!
I’ve really only found luck through local journals specific to my state or by happening upon something through submittable!
I’ve really only found luck through local journals specific to my state or by happening upon something through submittable!
I love the energy of your comments! You pulled so much from this story, and I truly appreciate your close reading. This is also one of my favorite POVs, and I know I tend to overuse it. I don’t know why, but 3rd person makes me feel so disconnected from my characters. Haha glad the outdoorsy aspect sucked you in! (My hubs is a also survival enthusiast, so I found myself yelling a lot of backpacking specific questions up the stairs during the editing phase). Thanks again for reading, Liv. I sincerely appreciate it!
Legend!
I was curious if it was you or someone else in your world who was a hiking enthusiast. The details are so accurate! Cheers to your husband for giving you some tips. You made an incredibly rich and realistic world that truly mirrors the process I have seen many new hikers go through- albeit usually over more than one hike. What a beautiful world you made!
Yes, he has quite a few more adventures under his belt than me! I thoroughly enjoyed hiking in my corner of the US, but have never taken on a trip like this. Someday!!
Yes, he has quite a few more adventures under his belt than me! I thoroughly enjoyed hiking in my corner of the US, but have never taken on a trip like this. Someday!!
Andy, While not based on real events, I think I wrote this as almost a “what if”/cautionary tale. My husband is the kind of person who would move a mountain to help me achieve my dreams, and for him, this hike is indeed one of his dreams. I thought about how I never want to be the “thing” that gets in the way of that, and hence this story was born. I sincerely appreciate your kind and heartfelt comment—I was just telling your wife that it truly made my day. ☺️
Aeris, what a tapestry of love you wove into the words you crafted within this beautiful story. This was amazing, and I am in tears. I will be following you as well as looking for other things you've written. I love the writing style, technique, and emotion you put into this. Kudos. You deserved the win by far. Do you have anything published? I'd love to check it out.
Kris, You and your husband’s comments have just absolutely made my day! I am so touched you hear how the story impacted you. One of the greatest compliments is when someone reads my work and feels compelled to share it with someone else. So thank you. ☺️ Beyond short stories, no, not yet! I wrote a story for another competition which did end up winning, and if you liked this one, you might enjoy the other!https://www.writingbattle.com/past-winners
Kris, You and your husband’s comments have just absolutely made my day! I am so touched you hear how the story impacted you. One of the greatest compliments is when someone reads my work and feels compelled to share it with someone else. So thank you. ☺️ Beyond short stories, no, not yet! I wrote a story for another competition which did end up winning, and if you liked this one, you might enjoy the other!https://www.writingbattle.com/past-winners
Sophia,You saw everything in this story that I was coming would come through to readers: “I love how the backpack represents the MC's grief/guilt.” Yes—exactly! Thanks for reading so intentionally and for sharing your thoughts, I greatly appreciate it! ☺️
Where do I begin?Well it sure took us an adventure beyond the AT. It was an adventure of people and emotions. There was humor, suspense, drama and sadness and at just the right amount. So a lot of people wrote in their favorite lines but I just couldn't. I couldn't pick one or two or three, I just loved it all. Was longer than most of the winners in recent weeks but it was worth every second of the readYou in a way made us all "thru" hikers
John, I really appreciate your comment!! I always worry that readers won’t want to hang out for 3k words, but I’m so glad you felt this was worth the read 😉 “made us all thru hikers,” I just love that! Thanks again!
John, I really appreciate your comment!! I always worry that readers won’t want to hang out for 3k words, but I’m so glad you felt this was worth the read 😉 “made us all thru hikers,” I just love that! Thanks again!
Hi Benjamin! I sincerely appreciate your comment. I’m so glad this story struck a chord with you ☺️ Thanks for reading!
Hi Benjamin! I sincerely appreciate your comment. I’m so glad this story struck a chord with you ☺️ Thanks for reading!
Hi Pamela! I appreciate your comment so much. Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts ☺️
Such great characters crammed into so little space! Melons and Aunt Jemima are hilarious names and the humour that you interspersed throughout the story is probably what helped the MC get through the ordeal.The ending was beautifully sad. You brought to life the lengths that the MC went to for lost love.
I have no idea where these characters and their quirky trail names popped up from, but I enjoyed creating them :)Thank you for reading, Edward! I greatly appreciate it.
Congrats Aeris, a worthy winner!
Thank you, Edward!
But that's what the AT's all about. Everyone who thru hikes ends up with a trail name, and they're often wacky ones like these. It's part of the deal. You've captured it so well.
But that's what the AT's all about. Everyone who thru hikes ends up with a trail name, and they're often wacky ones like these. It's part of the deal. You've captured it so well.
But that's what the AT's all about. Everyone who thru hikes ends up with a trail name, and they're often wacky ones like these. It's part of the deal. You've captured it so well.
But that's what the AT's all about. Everyone who thru hikes ends up with a trail name, and they're often wacky ones like these. It's part of the deal. You've captured it so well.
Completely understand being a rut--happy to beta for you if you ever need it!
Aeris! Congratulations on the win! Well-earned, well-written, well-deserved. 🏆 🥂(And a huge thank you for the beta offer, which I'd be glad to accept, if I ever stop being lazy and waiting until the last minute to write my stories. 😂)
Any time! [email protected]
Immediately, when I read your story and saw the name "Aunt Jemima" I was like wait? Isn't that the syrup I used to eat with my pancakes? My mom always used to buy it until they changed the name and when she's making us pancakes she still says "I'll get the Aunt Jemima!" XD it's also ironic when you said the "youths" because I'm 14 years and part of Gen Z😂
Amal, well now you’re in the know 😉😉
Amal, well now you’re in the know 😉😉
Thank you so so much for your kind words, David! I really appreciate you stopping by to read my story.
Aeris, there’s not much I can say that hasn’t already been said but I wanted you to know how easy you make it to read. I am a writer but for the most part I don’t enjoy reading but I do enjoy reading you because when I do I feel as if I’m reading downhill. You are a true talent. A real writer. A teller of stories. Great job.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Thom! ☺️
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Thom! ☺️
Riel, you're just my favorite, thank you so much.We have quite a few black bears in North Carolina, and unless it's a mama with her cubs, they will apparently run away if you scare them. So I don't know where the yodeling idea came from, but I definitely had fun with it!Best of luck to you with Midnight this week!!
Congrats for the win! I bet you made the judges shed a tear too :D
Thank you, Riel! 😉😉
Thank you, Riel! 😉😉
Wendy,Your comment has made my day! Yes, apparently hiking this trail is a *huge* feat that thousands of hikers attempt each year, but only one in four are able to complete, and it usually takes them between five and seven months.There was so much I wanted to squeeze into this, and I am so pleased to hear your take away, because you’ve touched on everything I hoped would come through in the writing. Thanks for being a great reader and for taking the time to share your kind thoughts! ☺️
Absolutely riveting. You gut-punched me at Mile 900, and again at the end, and I thank you for it. Keep writing, touching people, with this gift from God.
Thank you so so much for your sweet comment. It truly means a lot! ☺️
I got to the end thinking this must be autobiographical. Scribe is real to me. I’m in awe that you made this up—in 5 days! Thanks for sharing! (This is the first story I’ve read on Reedsy. I’ll be reading more of yours.)
Hi Mitzi! Thank you so much for reading. It is not autobiographical, but I read a lot of other hikers’ blogs during the research phase for this story to get a feel for what the whole experience would be like :)
I've read your story about three times now. I just keep coming back to it. Thank you so much for sharing! It's by far my favorite story I've stumbled across on this site so far!Kelly
Kelly--so humbled by your comment. I really appreciate you reading my story (more than once) and sharing your thoughts. It means a lot, and I'm so pleased to hear you liked it :)
Beautiful story! I like how the layers of this character get gradually peeled back as she gets more and more exhausted, and then we see her gradually gain strength again. Great descriptions of trail hiking, too!
Thank you for reading, Kathryn! ☺️
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