A Walk in the Woods: Chapter 21 Summary & Analysis

Bryson and Katz never make it to Katahdin. They just bounce along in the back of the pickup truck next to a mess of chain saws and get off the truck in Milo, the nearest town. It’s disorienting. A few minutes ago, they were in the wilderness, a two-day hike from civilization—and now they’re at a gas station. It feels weird knowing that they’re back for good. From now on, they’ll always have soda, beds, and showers. There’s no motel in Milo, but there’s a boarding house there. A sweet old lady named Joan Bishop welcomes them in warmly, and they smell baking pastry as they enter.

Katz, who’s covered in blood, can’t wait to shower, and he accidentally calls the old lady “mom” on his way upstairs. Bryson and Katz each emerge from their showers feeling utterly refreshed. Bryson assumes that a lot of hikers come through here, having abandoned the Hundred Mile Wilderness, but they’re the first ones Joan has seen. She says most people make it through fine but gently tells Bryson and Katz that it’ll still be there if they want to try to tackle it again another time.  

Bryson and Katz dine in town. Katz asks Bryson if he feels bad for giving up. Bryson pauses, feeling conflicted. He’s tired of the Trail but still fascinated by it. He enjoys the break from civilization but also longs for it when he’s in the woods. Reflecting on all this, he replies, “Yes and no.” Katz agrees before deciding they still did hike the Appalachian Trail—it doesn’t matter that they never made it to Katahdin, since all mountains look kind of the same. Bryson objects that they missed a lot of it, but Katz dismisses Bryson, telling him not to quibble about details. After a pause, Bryson agrees.

Back at the gas station, Katz decides to get them some cream soda to celebrate the end of their trip. Bryson grins and hands over some money (Katz has none of his own). Katz looks happy knowing he can watch TV tonight. They mark the end of their hike by cracking open the six-pack in Milo, instead of at the summit of Katahdin.

Katz returns to Iowa. He calls sometimes, saying one day he’ll come back out and tackle the Hundred Mile Wilderness again—but Bryson doubts that Katz will ever go back there. Bryson hikes on and off through the end of summer and into the fall. He decides that his final hike will be Mount Killington in Vermont. The weather is crisp and clear, and the view is stunning. For once, Bryson can enjoy it. From the summit, he can see many of the other mountains he climbed. He thinks that this is a good time to officially end his hiking adventure. One afternoon, Bryson sits down and calculates that he covered 870 miles of the 2,200-mile-long journey. He has no idea how people manage to hike the whole thing.

Bryson still goes on little hikes now and again, especially when he’s stuck on something he’s writing. He decides that he doesn’t need to hike up mountains or sleep in blizzards to get the most out of hiking. He has some regrets, though: he wishes he’d made it to Katahdin. He even regrets having never seen a bear. He wishes that he’d had a more impressive brush with death to boast about. Still, he’s learned a lot. He respects the forest and discovered an America that he knew little about. He decides that Katz was right and that he doesn’t care what anybody else thinks—he hiked the Appalachian Trail.