I started my AT Thruhike a month before these guys, and finished three days after them. While I never met them (they passed me sometime in Maine), I knew almost a dozen people who finished the same day they did. Watching this video really brought back some memories!

Most other AT books/videos try to hype a thruhike as some sort of mystical/magical vision quest. Yes, a thruhike is a great journey, filled with adventure, excitment, and time for quiet introspection. But it is also full of physical discomfort and tedium. If "PF from Raleigh" (below) ever manages to do a real thruhike, he/she will learn that this video captures the essence of a thruhike far more accurately than any other video out there.

I've watched several thruhike videos, but this is the first one I've seen that managed to capture the reality of a thruhike as I experienced it.

Note: I watched the DVD version, which is not listed on Amazon as of 2004/06/10, but Brian from Cirque Productions assured me earlier today that it will be listed soon.

I loved this film. I wanted to see what it was really like to go through the entire trail day after day for 5 months. The ups & downs of the trek. On one hand you have the spectacular scenery from the mountaintops, the wildlife,the wildflowers, waterfalls but you have to contend with rain, cold, blisters, your whole body aching. But it looked like it was worth it when they finally reached the end of the trail everyone was so happy. Happy at what they had accomplished & happy in a way that it was over. I recommend this film to anyone who loves the great outdoors. It is truly inspiring.

Get out your notepads and take some notes because this documentary ISN'T your typical scenic documentary that tells nothing of what trail life is really like. While TREK does include some beautiful scenery, the footage mainly serves the purpose to describe the terrain one would encounter. Although the scenic documentaries might inspire the recluse or Throeau-like hiker to hit the trail, TREK gives a real account of what it's like to complete the AT in its entirety.

Having hiked some of the more difficult portions of the trail in New England, I could relate to the hikers mental and physical ups and downs. But watching them surmount much adversity and work together as a team to accomplish their goal made me want to quit my job today and start hiking!

I would like to hike the entire AT one day and TREK also provided great instructional tips for before and during the hike like mail drops and shedding backpack pounds. I also appreciated the more human element present in the film that culminated in a great summit finale with a lot of the friends they met along the way.

I viewed Trek at an REI screening recently, and the 2 hour showing was somewhat painful. Regretfully I felt I was watching a rehearsal for the next Survivor rather than a movie about humankind working with or learning from nature; any of the main characters' respect for the trail was far overshadowed by the drive to defeat or "beat down" the AT and finish as fast as possible in the race to "increase testicular size", if I may loosely borrow a few quotes. This was extremely disheartening and frankly irritating.

To me, the young men featured were more concerned with self-promotion and ego building than gaining reverence for a simpler, albeit more physically challenging lifestyle among the elements. Because of this I found them hard to like and was grateful for the reprieve offered by the other, in my opinion, more insightful hikers periodically introduced. Had there been more character development (or humility even) I may have found the core group of 3 more interesting.

Ironically, avoiding the natural world seemed to be a theme as a significant portion of the footage was from OFF the trail.

Last, I believe the Smoky Mountains were misspelled (Smokey) in large text. Ouch!

I do give all involved credit for their feats - both the hike and the creation of a movie. Though I've not even considered thru-hiking I've spent a few weeks as a caretaker on the AT; some of the more challenging days of my life. I too met impressive people, but the ones who occasionally took time for introspection and smelling the roses gained my respect most.

The video is very interesting, entertaining, and thought-provoking. It tells the real life experience of four hikers in their endevour of hiking the Appalachian trail (over 2000 miles) in one summer. The best part is the actual physical and mental changes these young men go through during the trip. They meet many challenges along the way, at times question their sanity for undergoing such a trip but eventually triumph by overcoming the obstacles. The friendships that are made along the trip and the wonderful, real people that are introduced make you realize that this world is a good place.