即使我以路跑為主，但仍覺得這書好看。原因：
1. Appalachian Trail本身已經非常有名，單是談如何征服這條山徑，各施各法，故事已經說不完；
2. 作者為了保育台灣山徑，竟然親赴Appalachian Trail學習相關知識，歷時數月，頗為熱血；
3. 西方談Appalachian Trail的書、紀錄片很多，但華人作者、跑者呢？大概暫時這是唯一一本了。（如大家知道尚有其他，不妨相告）
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【維基百科相關條目：阿帕拉契小徑】
阿帕拉契小徑（Appalachian Trail）是美國東部著名的徒步徑，連接喬治亞州的史賓那山（Springer Mountain）和緬因州的卡塔丁山（Mount Katahdin），中間經過喬治亞州、北卡羅來納州、田納西州、維吉尼亞州、西維吉尼亞州、馬里蘭州、賓夕法尼亞州、紐澤西州、紐約州、康乃狄克州、馬薩諸塞州、佛蒙特州、新罕布什爾州和緬因州，共14州、8個國家森林和2座國家公園，全長約3,500公里（約2,200英里）。此外，International Appalachian Trail把阿帕拉契小徑向北伸延進入加拿大，直到山脈位於大西洋北部的終點。
阿帕拉契小徑由三十個徒步會負責，每年有超過4000名義工付出17.5萬小時擔任小徑維護工作。由於大部分位於荒野，徒行者能沿途欣賞野生動植物和不同地形，也有小部分是穿越城鄉、公路和河流。
阿帕拉契小徑在徒步者心目中十分有名氣，不少徒步者嘗試不停站地走畢整條徒步徑，Earl Shaffer是首個完成創舉的人，很多書籍、傳記、網站和支持者組織均有記載。
https://zh.wikipedia.org/…/%E9%98%BF%E5%B8%95%E6%8B%89%E5%A…
【吾運動‧吾閱讀】－ #蝦叔
《我在阿帕拉契山徑》
作者：徐銘謙
相信熱愛越野運動，留意海外越野路線的朋友，一定聽過位於美國的「阿帕拉契山徑」。
這條山徑，赫赫有名，單是長度已經叫人咋舌 —— 3,500公里，橫跨美國14個州。平常人打算徒步把它走完，得花上約半年時間。據統計，只有約兩成左右的人有毅力由頭到尾走完。若然用跑的形式，目前最快的紀錄，是一位比利時好手花了41天多走畢全程。
由於此山徑聞名於世，西方世界以此山徑為題著書的人也不少。例如作家Bill Bryson就將挑戰步道失敗的經歷寫成「Walk in the Woods」；超馬跑手Scott Jurek的新作「North」，就是他用46天跑完此徑的實錄。今次介紹的《我在阿帕拉契山徑》則比較特別，是一位台灣學者自述親赴當地保育山徑的經歷，也是華文世界中難得一本專談阿帕拉契山徑的書作。
作者徐銘謙，現為臺大海洋政策學者，曾於2006年參加計劃並獲選前赴阿帕拉契山徑學習保育、修築步道。她將在美國這條著名山徑上的經歷，在2008年寫成了《地圖上最美的問號》。舊作絕版多年後，於2015年，她把書易名再出新版，就是《我在阿帕拉契山徑》。
看這書，讀者會知道有關阿帕拉契山徑的不少背景，同時亦看到作者帶出了很多人的故事，她在旅程中遇到的人，都啟發了她對山的思考。對作者來說，親訪阿帕拉契山徑是一場社會運動，透過吸收新知識，藉以守護臺灣山頭，免受不必要的石屎化侵擾。越野運動愛好者一般都對山份外有感情，相信他們讀這書，一定也會感受到作者那份堅持的可貴。
#新地公益垂直跑 #新鴻基地產 #運動 #閱讀
【Exercise and Read】Uncle Shrimp Running
I am at the Appalachian Trail
Author: Hsu Ming-chien
Cross-country sports enthusiasts have surely heard of the 'Appalachian Trail' in the United States.
This famous mountain trail has a daunting distance of 3,500 km crossing 14 states. It takes around half a year for people to walk the entire trail, and statistics show that the average completion rate is only around 20 percent. The fastest running record is currently held by a Belgian who finished running the trail in about 41 days.
In the Western world, more than a few books have been written about the Appalachian Trail because of its popularity. For example, writer Bill Bryson recounted his failed trail challenge in Walk in the Woods. North is a new memoir written by ultra-marathon runner Scott Jurek about his 46-day run along this trail. As for the book being introduced in this issue – I am at the Appalachian Trail – it is special because it is a rare Chinese monograph written by a Taiwanese scholar featuring the Appalachian Trail with her own trail conservation experience in the US.
The book's author Hsu Ming-chien, now a marine policy scholar at National Taiwan University, joined a project in 2006 in which she was selected to travel to the Appalachian Trail and study trail conservation and pathway construction. This book was first issued in 2008 and named The Most Beautiful Question Mark on the Map. After many years out-of-print, Hsu published a new edition in 2015 and re-titled it – I am at the Appalachian Trail.
This book provides background information about the Appalachian Trail, and shares stories from many people she met during the journey as well as the author's inspirations and thoughts about mountains. In Hsu's eyes, her visit to the Appalachian Trail was a social movement. With new-found enlightened knowledge, she hopes to protect the mountains of Taiwan from unnecessary 'concretization'. Cross-country sports enthusiasts, without exception, are emotionally attached to mountains, and they will surely empathize with the author’s invaluable determination while reading this book.
