The National Outdoor Leadership School's Wilderness Guide: The Classic Handbook, Revised and Updated
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Product Description
Since 1965, the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) has been teaching its students how to climb, kayak, and navigate; how to camp without leaving a trace; how to stay warm and dry in the wilderness; how to cope with a backcountry emergency; and how to effectively lead others through such experiences. There are many reasons for spending time in the remote outdoors. Awe-inspiring scenery, peacefulness, wildlife viewing, and exercise are all good reasons. Another is that such experiences build character: "The wildlands teach us to be smart, practical, resourceful, and observant. To hike ten hours through scabrous terrain, cross a brawny river, stay warm in a snowstorm, and navigate your way out of tangled woods tests and builds your best faculties." While no single book can prepare one for spending time in the wilderness--much less impart all the skills necessary to survive in the elements--the NOLS Guide is an eminently useful place to start. Chapters include primers on equipment (fitting boots and packs, choosing a tent, the "Five Commandments for Equipment Care"); appropriate dress for a variety of climates; and ways of traveling in the backcountry, from crossing scree fields to fording rivers. It's not a substitute for in-depth instruction in, say, snow camping, or reading a map and compass. But with a solid grounding in the basics, one can take that first boot-step into what Joseph Wood Krutch called "the great reservoir of energy, of confidence, of endless hope."
Spotlight Customer Reviews:
Summary:
Hamstrung by the past
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Comment:
I've read a lot of backpacking books and go on backpacking trips each month. A lightweight pack is a better way.
You'll love this book, if you think a 5,000ci pack is required for 2 night trips and a 4,000ci pack is required for an overnight, if you think heavy boots are required, or bringing a heavy fleece jacket or wool sweater is good advice.
It covers a lot of different topics. Unlike other books written by "traditional" backpackers, such as O'Bannon's Backpackin' Book, I didn't feel like I skimmed some good ideas from a knowledgeable and experienced traditionalist backpacker. It was mainly regurgitating dogma, some of which is good advice (but readily available from other sources) and much of it myth.
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Good for this kind of camping
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Comment:
This book isn't for someone who wants to learn to be attuned to nature, or be able to flow with nature. I recommend Tom Brown Jr.'s books.
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Summary:
Excellent!!
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Comment:
A very good coverage of a large variety of topics. Learned a lot.
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Summary:
The best book for serious outdoor adventure
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Comment:
I read the book in preparation for a mountaineering course - it's great - informative, well written, a good balance of solid content and easy readability. He would be a great person to go up a mountain with - but the book is a little easier to fit in the backpack!An absolute must for anyone who camps in the non-RV sense of the word.
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Summary:
If you Can't Take Mark Harvey Camping, Take His Book
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Comment:
As a carefree college student,I camped quite often, but today, as a thirty year old business owner, I prefer to enjoy the outdoors by day, and to sleep in my warm, safe, familiar home by night. Harvey's Wilderness Guide has not only helped me to more thoroughly enjoy my day hikes, but it has also served as a catalyst to reignite my enthusiasm in camping for more than a Sunday afternoon. Harvey delivers intelligent, informative information in an easy to understand and enthusiastic style. The Wilderness Guide is packed with information, but it is far from bland reading, for Harvey is not only intelligent and well written, but he has a sense of humor as well. I live in Aspen and have spent time with Mark Harvey on numerous occasions. Possibly I will be able to camp with him one day. If not, I always have The National Outdoor Leadership School's Wilderness Guide.
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