Customer Reviews for
2000 Miles to Maine: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail
Great Stuff
This movie is great fun, and ultimately very moving as well. It allows a variety of hikers, men and women, and not just twenty somethings, to talk about their experiences on the trail. We feel we are hiking with them as we see them walking, setting up camp, cooking, standing around and talking by campfires, and struggling in the rain. There are some references to drugs and alcohol, which some people find offensive, but this is a documentary, not a promo piece nor a stilted documentary with voice over and eye candy shots. This movie gives you a real sense of being on the trail, the kinds of people you'll meet, and what it might mean to finish and undertaking of this magnitude. Well worth while and holds up with repeat viewings.2000 Miles to Maine: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail
Better than reality TV
Doug Morse and Heide Estes have made a fascinating and engaging portrait of people who are driven to realize their aspirations. It is precisely the kind of reality that makes the whole reality genre work.2000 Miles to Maine: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail
This film makes me want to hike the AT!
"What kind of person does it take to hike the Appalacian Trail? Could I be that kind of person?" This film helps answer that question, taking you on a journey along several stages of the trail and introducing you to several different types of people who have made the commitment to hike the 2000 miles of the AT from Georgia to Maine. I most identified with Chad, the hiker who shows up at the start of the Trail with all of his technical gear and undergoes a complete transformation by the time he reaches the end at Mt. Katahdin, but it was also great to see people of all ages, shapes and sizes connecting with each other while hiking on the trail.
I also love the fact that the filmmakers are out there on the trail for days and weeks at a time, the same as the hikers - hiking 15-20 miles a day in all kinds of weather is hard enough; making a film while you're doing it is an impressive feat in my book!!
Could I be the kind of person who could hike the AT? After watching this film, I think I could be!2000 Miles to Maine: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail
A Study of People, Not an Instructional Video
Mr. Morse and Ms. Estes did not create an "instructional video." Nor did they film a "scenic journey." Those who are making nature documentaries, or instructional videos are a dime a dozen. If that is what you are looking for, then this film is not for you.
Instead, what Mr. Morse and Ms. Estes have created is a wonderful impression of the types of persons who decide to be "thru-hikers" on the Appalachian Trail. At various points along the trail they meet up with old friends, and make new ones, who have taken on this daunting goal. You become a witness, through their eyes, to the emotional highs and lows, of being a thru-hiker. This film is a study of personality; failure and triumph experienced by those unique people who decide not to talk about doing it, but actually hiking the entire trail.
Filming a documentary of this nature is very difficult. How do documentarians get people to speak honestly about what they are going through? How do they get people who have decided to go their own way, and resolutely march on, in solitude, to open up, and share their feelings? Well, in this film the director and producer have singlehandedly been able to break through and show us the resilience, fortitude, and emotional upheaval that these remarkable men and women experience. Anyone can film pretty flowers, rocks and scenery. Anyone can film a list of material, or rehash an instructional book, in video format. It takes a true artist to dig deeper, and let us examine the inside workings of the spirit and soul of modern-day heroes.2000 Miles to Maine: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail
AT
Of 4 DVDs I have veiwed about thru hiking the AT, I thought this was the worse one.
Gave a real slanted look at the type of people who hike the AT.
The other DVDs I have seen about the AT made me want to chuck my job, throw on my rucksack and hit the trail.
This DVD made me think "screw the AT, I am going to hike the PCT. Too many weirdos and too crowded on the AT".2000 Miles to Maine: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail
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