Plattsburgh resident writes travelogue for ramblers and armchair travelers

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September 21, 2008

Deck

By ROBIN CAUDELL The Press Republican Sun Sep 21, 2008, 05:15 AM EDT

PLATTSBURGH -- Eleanor "Elle" Garrell Berger's "Stepping Out: A Tenderfoot's Guide to the Principles, Practices and Pleasures of Countryside Walking" is a must-read for the novice, seasoned rambler and armchair traveler.

Berger started her own publishing company, "Tenderfoot Press," and recruited a team of professionals to craft her debut travelogue of personal anecdotes and tips from more than a decade of jaunts along more than 1,000 miles of pathways, mostly in Great Britain.

She is a well-traveled writer and commentator. She has more than three decades of publishing at various enterprises including Sail Magazine, Plattsburgh Alive, Mountain Lake Radio, North Country Public Radio, Good Dog, "Our Best Friends: Wagging Tales to Warm the Heart" and "Angel Dogs: Divine Messengers of Love."

When she gave up jogging in the early '90s, she took up walking for pleasure and to exercise her standard schnauzer and border terrier. On one Point au Roche walk, she said to her partner, Michael DiNunzio, "Wouldn't it be good to go on a vacation on foot?"

"That was the a-ha moment," said Berger, a Plattsburgh resident. "The problem is I'm a tenderfoot. I'm not a person who does well hiking in the wilderness. I have camped out. There was a time when I did that. Now, I like to get to a place in the evening where I can wash up and have a good meal."

In England, walking or "rambling" is a passion only second to gardening. Author Bill Bryson defines rambling as "a stroll of sensible proportions."

"I define it as civilized recreation for UNEXTREME (her emphasis) adventure. What we do is walking for pleasure. We walk on footpaths that have been in use for hundreds and hundreds of years. Although my book is based on our walks in Great Britain, its principles and information and ideas are applicable to any kind of walking, anywhere, anytime."

She wrote the book for people who want to journey on foot.

"Sometimes, it is far away, and sometimes it's close by. It's on paths. You do it for joy and pleasure. In Great Britain, they have thousands of miles of footpaths. This is not hiking in wilderness. Most of the time, we get to a bed and breakfast every evening."

Berger has walked in France and Spain, but England has a centuries-old infrastructure of "public rights of way" suited for pleasant walking.

"Golfers will play golf anywhere in the world, but there are places that are particularly good, and that is true for walking as well."

"Stepping Out" is written for three types of readers.

"I wrote for the armchair traveler, the person who likes to read about the journeys of others. I'm an armchair traveler myself. I love to read about expeditions to Everest, but I will never do that. Tenderfoots don't do that kind of thing."

The engaging and tip-stocked guide encourages the novice or rookie walker.

"It's a book that says, You can do it. Here's how and here's what it's like.' That person will find lots of hints and tips in the book."

Her third audience is the experienced rambler who wants to reminisce a little.

"I combine essays, vignettes and stories and tips. I have people who have read the book from all three categories. They said, It was useful. We went on a walk in Wales. We took everything you said, literally. The older people, they love it. They reminisce. The novices all over Plattsburgh say, I think I can do this.' I'm very happy."

In her journal entry, "Good Enough Offa's Dyke Path: Monmouth to Llanvetherine," Berger writes:

"For me a day is blessed when seven out of ten variables go our way, when my attention remains on the pleasures at hand, rather than the difficulties ahead, and when, placing one foot in front of the other, we arrive at our destination reasonably dry and just about on time. This was such a day."

"We walk at a leisurely pace," Berger said. "I can't emphasize that enough. When we walk, we are on vacation. We are not suffering. We do it for fun."

rcaudell@pressrepublican.com