"It‘s Just Walking, What‘s the Big Deal?": Experience and Place on the Appalachian Trail
Regula AE. 2011. "It‘s Just Walking, What‘s the Big Deal?": Experience and Place on the Appalachian Trail. University of Wyoming
This research examines the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and the creation of its identity as a place. Adopting an experiential perspective, I use participant observation, open ended interviews, and personal reflection to access the identities of the Trail formed through direct experience. Generalizations of these identities are compared to identities available for indirect experience via representations in the collective narrative of the Trail. Analysis reveals a high degree of variation between identities as well as general distinctions between those formed through the two forms of experience. Finally, examination of the interaction between these identities results an understanding of identity as a complex, dynamic, and reiterative process.
- Type
- Academic
- Authors
- Regula, Adam
- Date of Issue
- 2011-03-23
- Publisher
- University of Wyoming
- Units
- APPA , GRSM
- Keywords
- GRSM-00887, Hiking, public interviews, sense of place, thesis, Trail
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Human Use | Visitor and Recreation Use | Visitor Use