Camping In The Old Style

The outdoor survival expert’s complete primer on traditional camping techniques—newly revised and updated with color photos and illustrations. Before the days of RVs and nylon sleeping bags, people still went camping. In this comprehensive volume, wilderness educator David Prescott explains the methods used during the golden age of camping, including woodcraft, how to set a campfire, food preparation, pitching a tent, auto camping, and canoeing. More than a simple how-to guide, Camping in the Old Style explores the rich history of American camping, with wisdom from classic books written by camping pioneers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Wescott also discusses his own methods, techniques, and philosophies. The information and ideas are brought to life through both archival and contemporary photographs.

Explores the methods used by campers prior to the advent of modern technology, trailers & RVs, Coleman stoves, nylon sleeping bags, & all the other modern camping conveniences. It shows in complete detail how to do everything from laying & setting a campfire to creating & pitching a tent, telling camp lore, canoeing, horseback camping, jack-knife cooking, woodcrafting, using an ax & saw, choosing & preparing camp food, setting up camp kitchens, & more. David Wescott, a leader in wilderness education for over 30 years, has compiled old-style camping techniques from some of the great authors on the topic & has added his own methods. Numerous drawings, diagrams & photos.

Discover the best-kept secrets of expert campers, which are divulged in this book by Cliff Jacobson, a seasoned veteran of the sport. Once you learn the secrets of the experts, you can share these insider tips with your camping buddies. Dazzle your kids or scouts with the wealth of shortcuts disclosed in this surreptitious guide to comfort and security in the bush. In this guide you'll find tips from A to Z on forecasting the weather, treating drinking water, building shelters such as a quinzee hut and various survival shelters, dealing with animal and insect encounters, cooking and cookware, making fires, treating common ailments, using maps and a compass, camping with kids, and choosing camping clothes, boots, sleeping bags and gear...and much more!

Enjoy winter camping in warmth and comfort! With careful planning, tenting during the year's coldest months can be safe and fun. Complete Guide to Winter Camping offers advice on selecting a four-season tent and constructing other types of shelter, maintaining personal hygiene, cooking in the cold, choosing a sleep system and getting the right amount of warmth to properly enjoy winter. Chapters on how to read animal tracks, travel safely on ice and identify trees and firewood make this unique book a must-read for anyone tired of spending half their year cooped up indoors! This updated and revised edition also includes chapters on: Weather forecasting Ice fishing Map and compass navigation How to read nature to navigate Dutch ovens and baking in the bush Clothing, boots and snowshow selection. Complete with color photos and expert advice from seasoned winter campers and travelers, this book will appeal to both car-camping families and adventurous individuals looking to extend their outdoor activities into another season.

“The definitive book on camping in America. . . . A passionate, witty, and deeply engaging examination of why humans venture into the wild.”—Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild From the Sierras to the Adirondacks and the Everglades, Dan White travels the nation to experience firsthand—and sometimes face first—how the American wilderness transformed from the devil’s playground into a source of adventure, relaxation, and renewal. Whether he’s camping nude in cougar country, being attacked by wildlife while “glamping,” or crashing a girls-only adventure for urban teens, Dan White seeks to animate the evolution of outdoor recreation. In the process, he demonstrates how the likes of Emerson, Thoreau, Roosevelt, and Muir—along with visionaries such as Adirondack Murray, Horace Kephart, and Juliette Gordon Low—helped blaze a trail from Transcendentalism to Leave No Trace. Wide-ranging in research, enthusiasm, and geography, Under the Stars reveals a vast population of nature seekers, a country still in love with its wild places.

An exploration of the hidden history of camping in American life that connects a familiar recreational pastime to camps for functional needs and political purposes. Camping appears to be a simple proposition, a time-honored way of getting away from it all. Pack up the car and hit the road in search of a shady spot in the great outdoors. For a modest fee, reserve the basic infrastructure--a picnic table, a parking spot, and a place to build a fire. Pitch the tent and unroll the sleeping bags. Sit under the stars with friends or family and roast some marshmallows. This book reveals that, for all its appeal, the simplicity of camping is deceptive, its history and meanings far from obvious. Why do some Americans find pleasure in sleeping outside, particularly when so many others, past and present, have had to do so for reasons other than recreation? Never only a vacation choice, camping has been something people do out of dire necessity and as a tactic of political protest. Yet the dominant interpretation of camping as a modern recreational ideal has obscured the connections to these other roles. A closer look at the history of camping since the Civil War reveals a deeper significance of this American tradition and its links to core beliefs about nature and national belonging. Camping Grounds rediscovers unexpected and interwoven histories of sleeping outside. It uses extensive research to trace surprising links between veterans, tramps, John Muir, African American freedpeople, Indian communities, and early leisure campers in the nineteenth century; tin-can tourists, federal campground designers, Depression-era transients, family campers, backpacking enthusiasts, and political activists in the twentieth century; and the crisis of the unsheltered and the tent-based Occupy Movement in the twenty-first. These entwined stories show how Americans camp to claim a place in the American republic and why the outdoors is critical to how we relate to nature, the nation, and each other.

Many non-campers hold irrational fears that tent camping is an uncomfortable and even dangerous activity. But author Frazier Douglass knows from experience that living in a public campground several days or weeks can be a very safe and comfortable experience. In Basic Tent Camping, Douglass offers a host of information about this popular recreational activity. Major topics include: • detailed information about tents, sleeping bags, ropes, hatchets, lights, ice chests, kitchen gear, and other items; • compressible, fast-drying garments that can be worn separately in hot weather and layered to provide warmth in cool weather; • how to perform variety of camping tasks such as setting up kitchen tarps that provide shade and storm protection, hanging hammocks, and battening down before bedtime; • dozens of simple, but delicious meal suggestions that can be easily prepared on a campfire or small camp stove; • how to plan basic tent camping trips to popular state and federal campgrounds during the peak summer camping season; • information about the history of tent camping and current ethical guidelines; • misconceptions and controversies related to basic tent camping; and • how to care for each piece of camping equipment to extend its lifetime. A valuable resource for both novice and veteran campers, Basic Tent Camping details a fresh approach to basic tent camping that emphasizes comfort and convenience.

A one-stop resource for hiking backpackers in beautiful British Columbia. Planning your next backpacking adventure? This book covers all the essentials including: 40 overnight hiking trails: discover the many different routes that BC has to offer Packing tips: take only the most essential items with you (plus a few comforts) Permitting: find out what permits you’ll need, and where to get them Camp set-up: tips for where to pitch your tent and how to find water Environmental impact: learn how to Leave No Trace behind in the wilderness This book features backpacking routes from the North Shore up to Pemberton and Lytton and from the Sunshine Coast out to the Similkameen Valley. Beautiful photographs showcase what you’ll see along the way: mountain peaks, alpine meadows, waterfalls, old-growth forests, and more. Every backpacking route in the book includes bonus features: Trail maps and route descriptions Elevation, distance and time information Points of cultural and natural history Pre-planning hints about fees, permits, and reservations Suggested side trips and points of particular interest Backpacking in Southwestern British Columbia also shares options for extending an overnight excursion to several nights or a week, and for selecting hikes that match your timeline/fitness level.