Best of
Outdoors

2015

Where's the Next Shelter?


Gary Sizer - 2015
    He teams up with Megan, a sassy college grad whose indomitable spirit eclipses her lack of experience, and Lemmy, a cartoonist from overseas whose off-kilter commentary on the wonders and frustrations of the trail keeps everyone laughing. Sprawling through the woods and towns of the Appalachian mountains, the trail carries the trio through real and fanciful ups and downs ranging from hilarious to perilous. Much more than an orderly account of mountain tops and meals, it is an adventure about friends figuring things out as they go. It's about screw-ups and solutions, awe and inspiration. If you long for the horizon, or to sleep under the stars, then come along for the hike of a lifetime. All you have to do is take the first step.

The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game: Volume 2: Small Game and Fowl


Steven Rinella - 2015
    In this first-ever complete guide to hunting—from hunting wild game to butchering and cooking it—the host of the popular hunting show MeatEater shares his own expertise with us, and imparts strategies and tactics from many of the most experienced hunters in the United States as well.   This invaluable book includes • recommendations on what equipment you will need—and what you can do without—from footwear to cutlery to camping gear to weapons • basic and advanced hunting strategies for all North American small game, including drive techniques, solo and group hunting, ambush hunting, the use of hunting dogs, and techniques for decoying and calling • how to find hunting locations, on both public and private land; how to locate areas that other hunters aren’t using; and how to make competition work in your favor • detailed sections on furred small game, upland birds, and waterfowl, covering the biology and best hunting methods for a total of thirty small game species  • comprehensive information about hunting wild turkeys in both the spring and fall seasons • how to master the arts of wingshooting and rifle marksmanship, and detailed information about shot placement, ammunition selection, and field maintenance of firearms and archery equipment • instructions on how to field dress and butcher your own small game animals for a variety of preparations • techniques and recipes for both indoor and outdoor wild game cookingFrom the Trade Paperback edition.

Lost on the Appalachian Trail


Kyle Rohrig - 2015
    Confront the terrain, severe weather, injury, dangerous wildlife and questionable characters as you grow and learn just as Kyle did from start to finish on this epic adventure. Make some friends for life, learn the finer points of long distance hiking, and realize that what you take within your backpack is not nearly as important as what you bring within yourself... This exciting and often times humorous narrative does more than simply tell the story of Kyle and Katana's adventures out on the trail. It urges the reader to examine their own life, fears, strengths, weaknesses and dreams, then learn to overcome or realize them. This book tells a story as much as it teaches, inspires and motivates you to get out there and see what the world has to offer. You will learn what it takes mentally and physically to accomplish an undertaking such as hiking thousands of miles through mountainous wilderness and countless obstacles that are all determined to make you quit. As Kyle did, you might even learn some things about yourself... Like "Lost on the Appalachian Trail" on Facebook for more pictures and updates on future hikes!

Balancing on Blue: A Dromomaniac Hiking


Keith Foskett - 2015
    2,000+ miles of unforgiving wilderness. Can he escape the mundane to become a thru-hiker? Shortlisted for Outdoor Book of the Year by The Great Outdoors magazine. Keith Foskett’s dream of escape started with a single step. When the long-distance hiker chose to backpack all 2,180 miles of the Appalachian Trail, he left ordinary life behind for five months. Enduring an incredible test of physical and psychological strength, Foskett was pushed to his limits…Accompanied by an array of eclectic characters – including a drug dealer, a world-champion juggler and a sex-starved Minnesotan – he weaves a route through some of America's wildest landscapes and history, and writes with insight, humour and reflection. Attempting to keep his English sense of humour alive amidst the bumps and bruises, can Foskett survive his journey of self-discovery to emerge victorious?Shortlisted for The Great Outdoors magazine’s Outdoor Book of the Year, Foskett’s novel-like tale is as entertaining as it is insightful. Venture beyond the journal-entry style of most outdoor books and join the humorous hike of a lifetime. Balancing on Blue is a superb standalone travel memoir. If you like living outside the box, escaping into the wild, and journeying deep into the unknown, then you’ll love Keith Foskett’s courageous trek. Discover how this wilderness escape can change you too.

Alone in the Fortress of the Bears: 70 Days Surviving Wilderness Alaska: Foraging, Fishing, Hunting


Bruce Buck Nelson - 2015
    He would return in September. For the next ten weeks my survival would depend on foraging, hunting and fishing on an island I would share with 1,600 brown bears. This is my story of hunger and solitude, salmon fishing and stormy seas, torrential rains and mountain sunsets, giant halibut and deer hunting, campfires and killer whales. Illustrated with nearly fifty photos and a map.

Seven Steps from Snowdon to Everest: A hill walker's journey to the top of the world


Mark Horrell - 2015
    As he teetered on a narrow rock ledge a yak's bellow short of the stratosphere, with a rubber mask strapped to his face, a pair of mittens the size of a sealion's flippers, and a drop of two kilometres below him, it's fair to say Mark Horrell wasn't entirely happy with the situation he found himself in.He was an ordinary hiker who had only read books about mountaineering, and little did he know when he signed up for an organised trek in Nepal with a group of elderly ladies that ten years later he would be attempting to climb the world's highest mountain.But as he travelled across the Himalayas, Andes, Alps and East Africa, following in the footsteps of the pioneers, he dreamed up a seven-point plan to gain the skills and experience which could turn a wild idea into reality.Funny, incisive and heartfelt, his journey provides a refreshingly honest portrait of the joys and torments of a modern-day Everest climber.

In Some Lost Place: The first ascent of Nanga Parbat’s Mazeno Ridge


Sandy Allan - 2015
    At ten kilometres in length, the Mazeno is the longest route to the summit of an 8,000-metre peak. Ten expeditions had tried and failed to climb this enormous ridge. Eleven days later two of the team, Sandy Allan and Rick Allen, both in their late fifties, reached the summit. They had run out of food and water and began hallucinating wildly from the effects of altitude and exhaustion. Heavy snow conditions meant they would need another three days to descend the far side of the ‘killer mountain’. ‘I began to wonder whether what we were doing was humanly possible. We had climbed the Mazeno and reached the summit, but we both knew we had wasted too much energy. In among the conflicting emotions, the exhaustion and the elation, we knew our bodies could not sustain this amount of time at altitude indefinitely, especially now we had no water. The slow trickle of attrition had turned into a flood; it was simply a matter of time before our bodies stopped functioning. Which one of us would succumb first?’ In Some Lost Place is Sandy Allan’s epic account of an incredible feat of endurance and commitment at the very limits of survival – and the first ascent of one of the last challenges in the Himalaya.

Midwest Foraging: 115 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Burdock to Wild Peach


Lisa M. Rose - 2015
    The plant profiles in Midwest Foraging include clear, color photographs, identification tips, guidance on how to ethically harvest, and suggestions for eating and preserving. A handy seasonal planner details which plants are available during every season. Thorough, comprehensive, and safe, this is a must-have for foragers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and North Dakota.

Grow or Die: The Good Guide to Survival Gardening


David The Good - 2015
    or water? What if you've never even planted a garden in your life... and your life depended on growing your own food?Don't panic! Grow or Die: The Good Guide to Survival Gardening has the answers. From hand tools that will till the ground better than a tractor to plans for growing all the calories you need in a crisis to easy-to-follow crop rotations that will beat the pests, this book is the cheapest insurance you can own against the crash we all know is coming sooner or later.You'll discover how to scrounge for seeds in unlikely places. How to till without a tiller. How to preserve your harvest. How to beat pests without poison. How to convert a lawn into a food factory. How to garden to survive in emergencies and crises.Expert gardener David The Good, author of the bestselling Compost Everything: The Good Guide to Extreme Composting, has written the gardening book that could one day save your life. Easy to follow and entertaining, Grow Or Die doesn't bog down in the technical details, but focuses on how you can turn your garden into a tool for survival. It's perfect for those interested in preparedness, low-tech gardening and living with a lighter, more ecologically sustaining footprint.

Higher Love: Skiing the Seven Summits


Kit DesLauriers - 2015
    Centered on her quest to climb and ski the Seven Summits, Higher Love is a hero’s journey, rich with personal insights, life-threatening consequences, and a thrilling crescendo.Spanning seven continents in just two years, this is Kit’s personal account of the secret journey that would change her heart and her life forever. From braving Antarctica’s bone-chilling temperatures to trudging through an African rain forest, from corn snow on the continental slopes of Australia to blue ice on Everest, Kit leads you up each mountain and gives you a heart-racing ride back down.This candid, fast-paced story shows how inspiration, teamwork and honoring our true nature blazes the trail to every summit, on or off the mountain.

Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail


Carrot Quinn - 2015
    The city makes her feel numb, and she's having trouble connecting with others. In a desperate move she breaks away from everything to walk 2,660 miles from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. It will be her first long-distance hike.In the desert of Southern California Carrot faces many challenges, both physical and emotional: pain, injury, blisters, aching cold and searing heat, dehydration, exhaustion, loneliness. In the wilderness she happens upon and becomes close with an eclectic group of strangers- people she wouldn't have chanced to meet in the “regular world” but who are brought together, here on the trail, by their one common goal: make it to Canada before the snow flies.

Lost on Purpose: Adventures of a 21st Century Mountain Man


Patrick Taylor - 2015
    In October/November 2013, Patrick Taylor crossed the Rocky Mountains alone on foot. He passed through one of the largest wilderness areas in the Lower 48 to reach and retrace the route of Lewis & Clark in the winter. The sacrifices – vocationally, financially, emotionally – are measured against the benefits by the author in a refreshingly honest, humorous, and inspirational fashion. It is the first book in a 3-part series on the 21st Century Mountain Man.See: https://www.facebook.com/thetexasyeti..."I spent my adult life pursuing all types of adventure all over the world; shark-diving in Burma, caving in Borneo, alpine adventures on big rock and ice, and 'social adventure'​, too. It started in the Marine Corps, blossomed in the international oilfield scene, and matured in the mountains on long solo treks.I crossed the Rocky Mountains alone on foot in the winter of 2013. I spent the next two years immersed in the mountain man way-of-life. I became a stockman and backcountry packer, and learned to leverage my alpine experience to become a self-sufficient trapper. I spent the winter of 2016 alone in an old cabin in the the Frank Church Wilderness, and finished the adventure in early March by walking 33 miles up & over the mountains with nothing more than a tarp, a sleeping bag, and a few bags of instant oatmeal.Leaving my business life behind, I have committed to a life of adventure. I have become an author of non-fiction adventure books. I share my adventures hoping to inspire my peers to challenge themselves and embrace adventure in their lives, too."Patrick Taylor'The Texas Yeti'taylor@thetexasyeti.com

Ephemeral Works: 2004-2014


Andy Goldsworthy - 2015
    Out of earth, rocks, leaves, ice, snow, rain, sunlight, and shadow he creates works that exist briefly before they are altered and erased by natural processes. They are documented in his photographs, and their larger meanings are bound up with the forces that they embody: materiality, temporality, growth, vitality, permanence, decay, chance, labor, and memory.Ephemeral Works features approximately 200 of these works, selected by Goldsworthy from thousands he has made between 2001 and the present and arranged in chronological sequence, capturing his creative process as it interacts with material, place, and the passage of time and seasons.--abramsbooks.com

Tools for Grassroots Activists: Best Practices for Success in the Environmental Movement


Nora Gallagher - 2015
    Now Patagonia has captured Tools' best wisdom and advice into a book, creating a resource for any organization hoping to hone core skills like campaign and communication strategy, grassroots organizing, and lobbying as well as working with business, fundraising in uncertain times and using new technologies. Patagonia hopes the book will be dog-eared and scribbled in; a solid, inspiring guide and reliable companion. The book is organized in two sections: Strategies, and Tools. Each chapter, written by a respected expert in the field, covers essential principals as well as best practices. A hands-on case study accompanies each chapter and demonstrates the principles in action. Sprinkled throughout are inspirational thoughts from acclaimed activists, such as Jane Goodall, Bill McKibben, Wade Davis, Annie Leonard, and Terry Tempest Williams. An activist's companion in the environmental movement.

Nathan Fa'avae: Adventurer At Heart


Nathan Fa'avae - 2015
    In Adventurer at Heart he shares his life story, and provides a compelling and unique insight into this remarkable pursuit.It takes a Tour de France cyclist about 90 hours of cycling, spread over three weeks with rest days, to complete the race. An adventure race, however, can take up to 160 hours of non-stop racing over as much as six days, with virtually no sleep or rest. To excel at this sport requires an elite level of skill in mountain running, mountain biking, kayaking, rafting and navigation but, above all, an almost superhuman capacity to endure suffering and pain.Part-Samoan, Nathan was raised in Nelson, and it was as a wayward adolescent that he discovered outdoor adventure. Since then he has never looked back, and has been a full-time adventurer working as an outdoor educator, the owner of multiple adventure-based businesses, and a professional athlete.Nathan’s career has taken him all over the world, and he has raced in the deserts of Africa, Mexico and the Emirates, the plains of Tibet and China, and the peaks and valleys of Nepal, Ecuador, Brazil, Patagonia, Russia, the European Alps, and New Zealand.Adventurer at Heart is a story of courage and perseverance, and of overcoming tremendous challenges. Nathan Fa’avae is an outstanding New Zealander, and this book is an inspiring account of what it takes to become a world champion.

The Old Farmer's Almanac 2016


Old Farmer's Almanac - 2015
    Thomas, and readers’ expectations. This edition is packed with wit, wisdom, tips, advice, facts, fun, and recipes, including: • traditionally 80 percent–accurate weather forecasts • how to make sausages at home • “creatures from hell” • grow your own beer (ingredients) • time- and money-saving tips • unmasked mysteries of plant seed dispersal • bale, key, and concrete block gardens • quirky origins of American horse breeds • history, lore, and more about birthstones Plus, Moon phases and other celestial sightings, tides, gardening tables, best days to do things, and more.   Added value this year: • 96 full-color pages • full-color winter and summer weather maps • updated Reference section Often imitated, but never equaled. Accept no substitutes!

Advanced Bushcraft: An Expert Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival


Dave Canterbury - 2015
    Using the foundation you learned in Bushcraft 101, Canterbury shows you how to completely immerse yourself in the wilderness with advanced bushcraft and woodcraft techniques. He covers crucial survival skills like tracking to help you get even closer to wildlife, crafting medicines from plants, and navigating without the use of a map or compass. He also offers ways to improvise and save money on bushcraft essentials like fire-starting tools and packs. With Canterbury's expert advice and guidance, you will learn how to forgo your equipment, make use of your surroundings, and truly enjoy the wilderness. Whether you're eager to learn more after your first real outdoor adventure or have been exploring the backcountry for years, Advanced Bushcraft will help you take your self-reliance and wilderness experience to the next level.

The Bug Book: A Fly Fisher's Guide to Trout Stream Insects


Paul Weamer - 2015
    Hatch charts, fly pattern recommendations, and important fishing strategies from Paul Weamer. This is the ideal reference for those just starting out or for those that want to have a more comprehensive view of the important insects.Understanding aquatic insect hatches is like being able to cast an entire fly line. Do you need to cast that far to catch fish? Of course not. But will being able to cast a long distance inhibit your ability to catch fish? Never. Knowing where, and how, insects live and emerge gives anglers yet another piece of the puzzle. I’ve never heard a fly fisherman exclaim, “I probably would have caught those rising fish if I just didn’t know so much about trout stream insects.”You still need to cast. You still need to present flies in such a manner that fish will accept them. But though no one has ever failed to catch a trout because they knew too much about aquatic insects, plenty of anglers have not caught as big a fish, or as many fish as they could have caught, because they failed to understand the importance of matching a hatch. This is particularly true when fishing for large, wild, selective trout—the ones we all really want to catch.In this book, I try to relieve some of the reticence about trout stream insects that makes many anglers feel inadequate and uneasy. Many excellent books provide very detailed information about specific hatches. But that’s not this book’s goal. This book is written for new anglers who want a basic understanding of aquatic insects or more seasoned fly fishers who want to take their skills to the next level; those who want to know not only if their flies will work but why they’ll work as well. I remember when I was first learning to fly fish, and I read about complicated Latin names or confusing stages of aquatic insect development. I was lost. It was as if the whole fly fishing world was born knowing about these things, and I was left out. This book’s aim is to provide basic aquatic insect knowledge that will not only help you to understand more about trout stream insects, but it will also help you catch more trout on your next fishing trip. It will help you to understand why you should tie one fly to your leader rather than another to imitate the hatches you encounter.Paul Weamer is a Fly Fisherman magazine contributing editor and the author or co-author of several fly fishing books. He is an accomplished photographer, specializing in aquatic insect macro photography, and has contributed photos to Fly Fisherman, The Catskill Regional Guide, and The Drake, as well as his own and several other writer’s books. Paul is a former licensed guide, working the Upper Delaware and Beaverkill Rivers for trout and smallmouth bass, and Cattaraugus, Elk, and Walnut Creeks for steelhead. He has owned or managed three highly regarded fly shops in New York and Pennsylvania and has been a production tier for numerous guides and shops, including the legendary Dette fly shop in Roscoe, New York. Paul is a contract fly designer for the Montana Fly Company and the inventor of the Weamer’s Truform, Comparachute, Alewife, Bucktail Body, and the Weamer Streamer series of flies.Paul is one of the founders of the Friends of the Upper Delaware River (FUDR), and is a current member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America. He was the 2009 co-winner of FUDR’s Upper Delaware “One Bug” tournament and winner of the 2011 Upper Delaware Council’s Recreation Award for his book about the river. Paul is a Simms Guide Ambassador and member of the product development staff for Simms and Orvis.

On the Burning Edge: A Fateful Fire and the Men Who Fought It


Kyle Dickman - 2015
    On the Burning Edge, by award-winning journalist and former wildland firefighter Kyle Dickman, is the definitive account of the Yarnell Hill Fire.  On June 28, 2013, a single bolt of lightning sparked an inferno that devoured more than eight thousand acres in northern Arizona. Twenty elite firefighters—the Granite Mountain Hotshots—walked together into the blaze, tools in their hands and emergency fire shelters on their hips. Only one of them walked out.   Dickman brings to the story a professional firefighter’s understanding of how wildfires ignite, how they spread, and how they are fought. He understands hotshots and their culture: the pain and glory of a rough and vital job, the brotherly bonds born of dangerous work. Drawing on dozens of interviews with officials, families of the fallen, and the lone survivor, he describes in vivid detail what it’s like to stand inside a raging fire—and shows how the increased population and decreased water supply of the American West guarantee that many more young men will step into harm’s way in the coming years.Praise for On the Burning Edge   “What makes this book a tear-jerking classic is the seamless manner in which Dickman weaves a century of fire-management history into the fully realized stories of the men’s lives—the sweat, the adrenaline, the orange glow of fire within their aluminum shelters, and the chewing gum that hotshot Scott Norris left in the shower before telling his girlfriend, Heather, ‘I’ll take care of it later. I promise.’”—Outside   “Dickman offers a riveting account of a dangerous occupation and acts of nature most violent—and those who face both down.”—Library Journal

California's Wild Edge: The Coast in Prints, Poetry, and History


Tom Killion - 2015
    The High Sierra of California and Tamalpais Walking are close to 25,000 in print this volume will draw readers to the wilder shores of our coast and the Pacific Ocean

The National Parks: An American Legacy: An American Legacy


Ian Shive - 2015
    national parks are among the most breathtaking destinations in the world. Founded to preserve such natural beauty for posterity, the national parks represent one of America’s crowning achievements and international treasures.The National Parks: An American Legacy tells the story of the parks through the photography of Ian Shive, today’s leading national park photographer, as well as through poignant essays by conservancy groups from across the country. Timed to coincide with the celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the National Park Service, this lavish volume reveals the grandeur and history of the parks and looks toward what the next 100 years will bring.With more than 200 never-before-seen images of the national parks — including Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon — as well as images from many of the 400-plus national park units, this striking collection is comprehensive and inspiring. The National Parks: An American Legacy reveals the way humankind interacts with the parks, and how the story of the national parks is also a tribute to the people who visit, explore, and tirelessly work to preserve these cherished American landscapes.

Prophets and Moguls, Rangers and Rogues, Bison and Bears: 100 Years of the National Park Service


Heather Hansen - 2015
    The story of the National Park Service is the story of people who fought for the protection of the places that have helped to define our national identity, those places we now hold dear—from the blue hazy mist that hangs over Great Smokey Mountains National Park to the spouting geysers of Yellowstone to the thick, steamy waterways of the Everglades. The NPS founders were the architects of our family vacations, the inventors of icons with worldwide appeal. They battled “progress,” which often masked greed and ignorance, and their story continues with those who molded and grew the NPS through a flu pandemic, the Great Depression, World Wars, and beyond.Prophets and Moguls, Rangers and Rogues, Bison and Bears is the engaging and accessible story of the NPS that brings to life its history and characters. The result of extensive research, dozens of interviews with Park Service employees, and the author’s own experiences at park units she visited all over the country, it’s a highly readable history that connects the dots of past to present and will remind readers of the vast array of public assets administered by the NPS—resources which offer something for everyone and also need every citizen’s support.

Alpine Warriors


Bernadette McDonald - 2015
    The state of Slovenia was split up amongst Germany, Hungary and Italy. Partisan groups, under the leadership of Josip Tito, managed to liberate the state by 1945, and then began a period of relative calm, under the benevolent rule of Tito. A Communist, he began to distance himself from the Soviet Union, looking to western economic models as Yugoslavia struggled to rebuild. During the thirty years following the war, a Yugoslavian passport was one of the best in the world, and Yugoslavians could travel freely during this time, if they had the money. Most did not.But alpinists did. Through centralized government programs that established elaborate training régimes and state-supported expeditions abroad, Yugoslavian alpinists began making impressive climbs in the Himalaya as early as 1960. By the early 70’s, they had advanced to the 8000ers. Although not exclusively Slovenian, the teams were – not surprisingly – dominated by Slovenian climbers, since Slovenia is blessed with the Julian Alps. A fiercely steep range of limestone peaks, the Julian Alps provided the ideal training ground for Slovenian climbers, in both summer and winter. The brooding north faces and razor-sharp ridges taught them the skills they would need on the highest mountains on earth – the Himalaya.But when Tito died in 1980, the calm period ended. Inter-ethnic conflict and economic decline ripped the country apart. Serbian Communist leader, Slobodan Miloševic, led the charge with, what appeared to be an unstoppable strategy of aggression and oppression. But he misread the strength and character of several Yugoslavian states, including that most northerly one – Slovenia. By the summer of 1991, Slovenia was an independent country.Slovenia continued the tradition of support for climbers, and success breeds success. By 1995, all of the 8000ers had been climbed by Slovenian teams. And in the next ten years, some of the most dramatic and futuristic climbs were made by Slovenian climbers. Apart from a few superstars, most of these amazing athletes remain unknown in the West.What prompted this Himalayan performance by a tiny nation of just two million people? Life in Slovenia during this period was defined by shortages, preoccupation with ethnic conflict and poor living conditions. Yet, like had previously happened in Poland, its neighbor to the North, Slovenian climbers seemed to thrive and excel in these trying conditions, setting standards that no other country could replicate. Alpine Warriors explores the explosion of Slovenian alpinism within the context of its turbulent political history.

John Muir Ultimate Collection: Travel Memoirs, Wilderness Essays, Environmental Studies & Letters (Illustrated): Picturesque California, The Treasures ... Redwoods, The Cruise of the Corwin and more


John Muir - 2015
    Table of Contents: Picturesque California The Mountains of California Our National Parks My First Summer in the Sierra The Yosemite Travels in Alaska Stickeen: The Story of a Dog The Cruise of the Corwin A Thousand-mile Walk to the Gulf Steep Trails Studies in the Sierra Articles and Speeches: The National Parks and Forest Reservations Save the Redwoods Snow-Storm on Mount Shasta Features of the Proposed Yosemite National Park A Rival of the Yosemite The Treasures of the Yosemite Yosemite Glaciers Yosemite in Winter Yosemite in Spring Edward Henry Harriman Edward Taylor Parsons The Hetch Hetchy Valley The Grand Cañon of the Colorado Autobiographical: The Story of My Boyhood and Youth Letters to a Friend Tribute: Alaska Days with John Muir by Samuel Hall Young John Muir (1838-1914) was a Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions. His activism helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is a prominent American conservation organization.

The Seven Step Survival Plan


David Kobler - 2015
    Beginners can be overwhelmed by the number of tasks that need to be accomplished. The Seven Step Survival Plan provides a blueprint that prioritizes the different aspects of preparedness and breaks them down into achievable goals. Seasoned preppers often get overweight in one particular area of preparedness. The Seven Step Survival Plan supplies some basic guidelines to help keep the plan in balance and ensures you’re not missing any critical segments of a well-adjusted survival strategy.

The Total Flyfishing Manual: 307 Tips and Tricks from Expert Anglers


Joe Cermele - 2015
    The Total Fly Fishing Manual is the most comprehensive collection of expert fly fishing advice and up-to-date gear reviews. This book gathers the best tips, old school-techniques that still deliver and adds a wealth of new material.Filled with over 300 hints from the best anglers in both salt and fresh water, the editors of Field and Stream give you everything you need to make the perfect pitch, find a secret spot and score a fish.TOOLSFrom the best flies of all time to the best reel for the job and when to change your hooks learn about the tools you needed for the job. As well as practical skills like tying a Palomar knot, how to unravel flylines, the five-minute fly, tying a clouser minnow, and how to lose the tailing loop.TECHNIQUESFrom old to new, everything you need to know to strike in the night, put a different spin on it, spot and stalk, shoot the breeze and find where they feed.TACTICSPut yourself in the best position for the catch: get up the creek for a late-season trout, find a secret spot, sneak up on more fish, fish headwaters for autumn trout, fish with your eyes, hook more rising fish, take the long shot, and dominate the shoreline.Whether you’re fishing for, salmon, bass or carp this guide will help you improve your technique, upgrade your equipment and hook your prize fish.

The Plant Lover's Guide to Ferns


Sue Olsen - 2015
    Perfect for containers, borders, layered gardens, foliage accents, and shady areas, ferns come in a range of colors and varieties. The Plant Lover’s Guide to Ferns, by fern enthusiasts Richie Steffen and Sue Olsen, is packed with information on these reliable plants. The book includes profiles for 134 plants, with information on growth and propagation, advice on using ferns in garden design, and lists of where to buy the plants and where to view them in public gardens.

Grizzly: The Bears of Greater Yellowstone


Thomas D. Mangelsen - 2015
    Mangelsen’s latest project focuses on a celebrated Yellowstone grizzly bear family, which he has been tracking and photographing for ten years. The grizzly bears of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks are the most famous wild bruins in the world. Millions of people and generations of travelers annually make special pilgrimages to the northern Rockies just to catch sight of these powerful, breathtaking animals. But like a lot of large predator populations on earth, grizzlies in the lower 48 states have struggled for survival. In Grizzly, renowned nature photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen and environmental writer Todd Wilkinson team up to tell the inspiring if sometimes harrowing story of a remarkable bear clan: Mother Grizzly 399 and her generations of offspring. While tracking this charismatic band of bears, Mangelsen has amassed an incomparable photographic portfolio that offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of this celebrated bear family. The rescue of Yellowstone grizzlies ranks as one of the greatest feats of wildlife conservation.

Reclaimers


Ana Maria Spagna - 2015
    Washington s White Salmon River was saddled with a fish-obstructing, inefficient dam, and the Timbisha Shoshone Homeland was unacknowledged within the boundaries of Death Valley National Park.Until people decided to reclaim them.In Reclaimers, Ana Maria Spagna drives an aging Buick up and down the long strip of West Coast mountain ranges the Panamints, the Sierras, the Cascades and alongside rivers to meet the people, many of them wise women, who persevered for decades with little hope of success to make changes happen. In uncovering their heroic stories, Spagna seeks a way for herself, and for all of us, to take back and to make right in a time of unsettling ecological change."

Satellites in the High Country: Searching for the Wild in the Age of Man


Jason Mark - 2015
    Collared, microchipped, and transported by helicopter, the wolves are protected and confined in an attempt to appease ranchers and conservationists alike. Once a symbol of the wild, these wolves have come to illustrate the demise of wilderness in this Human Age, where man's efforts shape life in even the most remote corners of the earth. And yet, the howl of an unregistered wolf—half of a rogue pair—splits the night. If you know where to look, you'll find that much remains untamed, and even today, wildness can remain a touchstone for our relationship with the rest of nature.  In Satellites in the High Country, journalist and adventurer Jason Mark travels beyond the bright lights and certainties of our cities to seek wildness wherever it survives. In California's Point Reyes National Seashore, a battle over oyster farming and designated wilderness pits former allies against one another, as locals wonder whether wilderness should be untouched, farmed, or something in between. In Washington's Cascade Mountains, a modern-day wild woman and her students learn to tan hides and start fires without matches, attempting to connect with a primal past out of reach for the rest of society. And in Colorado's High Country, dark skies and clear air reveal a breathtaking expanse of stars, flawed only by the arc of a satellite passing—beauty interrupted by the traffic of a million conversations. These expeditions to the edges of civilization's grid show us that, although our notions of pristine nature may be shattering, the mystery of the wild still exists — and in fact, it is more crucial than ever. But wildness is wily as a coyote: you have to be willing to track it to understand the least thing about it. Satellites in the High Country is an epic journey on the trail of the wild, a poetic and incisive exploration of its meaning and enduring power in our Human Age.

The Sea Is My Country: The Maritime World of the Makahs


Joshua L. Reid - 2015
    Unlike most other indigenous tribes whose lives are tied to lands, the Makah people have long placed marine space at the center of their culture, finding in their own waters the physical and spiritual resources to support themselves. This book is the first to explore the history and identity of the Makahs from the arrival of maritime fur-traders in the eighteenth century through the intervening centuries and to the present day.   Joshua L. Reid discovers that the “People of the Cape” were far more involved in shaping the maritime economy of the Pacific Northwest than has been understood. He examines Makah attitudes toward borders and boundaries, their efforts to exercise control over their waters and resources as Europeans and then Americans arrived, and their embrace of modern opportunities and technology to maintain autonomy and resist assimilation. The author also addresses current environmental debates relating to the tribe’s customary whaling and fishing rights and illuminates the efforts of the Makahs to regain control over marine space, preserve their marine-oriented identity, and articulate a traditional future.

The Fall Line: America's Rise to Ski Racing's Summit


Nathaniel Vinton - 2015
    For decades, American skiers struggled to match their European counterparts, and until this century the US Ski Team could not claim a lasting foothold on the roof of the Alps, where the sport’s legends are born.Then came a fledgling class of American racers that disrupted the Alpine racing world order. Led by Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn, Julia Mancuso and Ted Ligety, this band of iconoclasts made a place for their country on some of the world’s most prestigious race courses. Even as new technology amplified the sport’s inherent danger, the US Ski Team learned how to win, and they changed downhill racing forever.The Fall Line is the story of how it all came together, a deeply reported reconstruction of ski racing’s most dramatic season. Drawing on more than a decade of research and candid interviews with some of the sport’s most elusive figures, award-winning journalist Nathaniel Vinton reveals the untold story of how skiers like Vonn and Miller, and their peers and rivals, fought for supremacy at the Olympic Winter Games.Here is an authoritative portrait of a group of men and women taking mortal risks in a bid for sporting glory. A white-knuckled tour through skiing’s deep traditions and least-accessible locales, The Fall Line opens up the sexy, high-stakes world of downhill skiing—its career-ending crashes, million-dollar sponsorship deals, international intrigue, and showdowns with nature itself.With views from the starting gate, the finish line, and treacherous turns in between, The Fall Line delivers the adrenaline of one of the world’s most beautiful and perilous sports alongside a panoramic view of skiing’s past, present, and future.

Wild Guide - Southern and Eastern England: Norfolk to New Forest, Cotswolds to Kent (Including London)


Daniel Start - 2015
    This compendium of adventures features the best adventures and wild places including ideas for local food and accommodation in 28 weekend itineraries.

The Great Wide Open: New Outdoor and Landscape Photography


Jeffrey Bowman - 2015
    So pack your backpack, lace up your shoes don t forget your camera and go. As the rhythm of our hectic urban lives continues to speed up, we are increasingly compelled to leave it all behind and escape far into the quiet depths of nature. In great contrast with the claustrophobic metropolitan environments most of us live in, the photographs featured in The Great Wide Open depict wondrous sites that will take you on a visual journey through faraway lands from Mongolia to Peru, as seen by those who have climbed that mountain and surfed that wave. Through their silent forests, infinite skies, and crystal waters, these photographs capture the feeling of longing behind the growing search for a certain peacefulness that is lacking in our fast-paced lifestyles. Follow this movement by joining a new generation of outsiders who have an unquenchable thirst for adventure, and see what they see through awe-inspiring images of some of the world s most beautiful places. Read about their explorations as they share the stories behind the photographs tales ranging from conquering the unconquerable to preparing good coffee huddled under a pitched tent. Beyond some traditional, timeless landscape photographs, The Great Wide Open features views that are highly personal and full of life.

Up and About: The Hard Road to Everest


Doug K. Scott - 2015
    As darkness fell, Scott and Haston scraped a small cave in the snow 100 metres below the summit and survived the highest bivouac ever – without bottled oxygen, sleeping bags and, as it turned out, frostbite. For Doug Scott, it was the fulfilment of a fortune-teller’s prophecy given to his mother: that her eldest son would be in danger in a high place with the whole world watching. Scott and Haston returned home national heroes with their image splashed across the front pages. Scott went on to become one of Britain’s greatest ever mountaineers, pioneering new climbs in the remotest corners of the globe. His career spans the golden age of British climbing from the 1960s boom in outdoor adventure to the new wave of lightweight alpinism throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In Up and About, the first volume of his autobiography, Scott tells his story from his birth in Nottingham during the darkest days of war to the summit of the world. Surviving the unplanned bivouac without oxygen near the summit of Everest widened the range of what and how he would climb in the future. In fact, Scott established more climbs on the high mountains of the world after his ascent of Everest than before. Those climbs will be covered in the second volume of his life and times.

Survival Medicine


Joseph Alton - 2015
    Bones and Nurse Amy Survival Medicine is the ultimate handbook for situations that require creativity when it comes to administering first aid. It assumes that no hospital or doctor is available in the aftermath of a catastrophic event. This book will give you the tools to handle injuries and illness in any circumstance and is an essential part of any reference library.Included are topics like:•natural remedies: essential oils, the medicinal garden•hygiene-related medical issues: lice, ticks, and worms•wildfire preparedness, tornado preparedness, hurricane preparedness, earthquake preparedness•allergic reactions: asthma, poison ivy, oak, and sumac•radiation sickness•dislocations, fractures, amputation•heart disease and chest pain

Wendy Whiteley and the Secret Garden


Janet Hawley - 2015
    This is the extraordinary story of how a determined, passionate and deeply creative woman has slowly transformed an overgrown wasteland into a beautiful sanctuary for everyone to enjoy - and in the process, transformed herself.Wendy Whiteley was Brett Whiteley's wife, muse and model. An artist herself, with a finely honed aesthetic sense, she also created the interiors at the heart of Brett's iconic paintings of their Lavender Bay home. When Brett died, followed by the death nine years later of their daughter Arkie, Wendy threw her grief and creativity into making an enchanting hidden oasis out of derelict land owned by the New South Wales Government. This glorious guerrilla garden is Wendy's living artwork, designed with daubs of colour, sinuous shapes and shafts of light.This is Wendy's story but it's also the story of the countless people who cherish the Secret Garden. 'I've loved making this garden. It's been a great gift to my life. It let me find myself again, and it's my gift to share with the public.' Wendy Whiteley

Looking Through Water


Bob Rich - 2015
    Colorful characters from the old man’s past come to life to help him tell an unforgettable story full of surprises and suspense. Fueled by nature’s fury, men are yanked out of their comfort zones and thrown together to confront life and death. Just as William appears to be on the brink of permanent unmooring, a stranger unexpectedly arrives to provide the tethering he has always sought.Looking Through Water twists and turns as old wounds are revealed, wrongs are redressed, lives are threatened, understanding surfaces, and love arrives. With his grandfather’s past laid bare, Kyle must ultimately face how he might shape his future.This story explores the emotions that make up the intricate tapestry of family structure by pulling at the threads of truth, lies, and misunderstandings.

The Total Skywatcher's Manual: 275+ Tips on Skills, Projects, & Gear for Exploring the Night Sky


Astronomical Society of the Pacific - 2015
    The Total Skywatcher’s Manual will help you choose the best telescope, identify constellations and objects in the night sky, search for extraterrestrial phenomena, plan star parties, capture beautiful space imagery and much more.With fully illustrated star charts, gorgeous astrophotography and step-by-step project instruction, this family friendly book is the only guide you’ll ever need to navigate the nightsky. Learn about the phases of the moon, how to conduct your own deep-sky observations, how the universe is expanding, our search for life on other planets, meteors vs. meteorites, sunspots and solar flares, best eclipse-viewing techniques—everything you need to know to appreciate the wonder of our universe. Based in San Francisco, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific has a 125-year history of providing resources, tools, and information to astronomy enthusiasts, including amateur astronomers, families, and science educators (K-16). Join the ASP on this journey through the nightsky and beyond.

Going Up is Easy


Lydia Bradey - 2015
    She made the ascent alone and to date she is the only New Zealander to have made an oxygen-free ascent. Her climb was a truly remarkable achievement but also an internationally controversial one.Going Up is Easy details for the first time the events surrounding Bradey's historic feat, as well as her many hair-raising expeditions through Alaska, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, India, China, Europe, and New Zealand.In the spirit of John Krakauer's Into Thin Air or Joe Simpson's Touching the Void, Going Up is Easy celebrates a life lived on the edge. Through her stories, we encounter a woman propelled by curiosity and passion to become one of the greatest female high-altitude adventurers of recent times.Co-written with acclaimed novelist Laurence Fearnley, a long-time friend of Bradey, and stunningly illustrated throughout, Going Up is Easy is a life story by turns dramatic, tender, funny, frank and inspiring.

Moon California Camping: The Complete Guide to More Than 1,400 Tent and RV Campgrounds


Tom Stienstra - 2015
    Extremely comprehensive and packed with useful information, Moon California Camping covers more than 1,400 camping options throughout the state, from sites nestled among towering redwoods to remote backcountry destinations in the High Sierra to sun-drenched, beach-side campgrounds. Detailed descriptions, directions, contact information, and Stienstra's signature scenic rating are provided for each site. Stienstra also includes lists of the best campgrounds, such as Best for Hikes with Views and Best Family Destinations, as well as sixty pages of helpful camping tips. With Moon California Camping, seasoned outdoors enthusiasts and camping novices alike can experience the best of the great outdoors in the Golden State.

Off the Road


R. Klanten - 2015
    Along less-traveledpaths they are heading up mountains anddown dunes in converted mobile homes, campers, trucks, or vans. They are enjoyingthe drive and the view through mud-splatteredwindshields as much as the stops andevening campfires amid stunning terrain.Although many of us love living in cities, we have a growing longing to escapeinto nature. The outdoor scene is boomingand many people are heading off to discoverit with their own converted vehicles. Thisway, they can determine their own routes, itineraries, and pace, as well as how manychallenges they'd like to meet along theway. After a day on the go, these multifunctionalvehicles also serve as kitchens, campgrounds, and sleeping quarters that offer agreat deal more improvised fun than a standard, perfectly equipped RV. Conventionalluxuries are eschewed for the sake of greaterfreedom, tranquility, and adventure.Off the Road captures the special moodof such trips by solo travelers, couples, orfamilies who are seeking an alternative to amore standard vacation or want to live theirlives differently --at least for a while. Onthe one hand, the book shows how familiarmodels, such as VW buses, Land Rovers, jeeps, and Toyotas are being rediscoveredand repurposed for these exploits. Onthe other, it presents automotive dreamsturned into customized, homey vehiclesthat offer tailgate breakfasts or roof beds tobetter admire the stars and that can, in anemergency, cross a river or drag a fallen treefrom the road.Whether exploring the desert, showingchildren the world, or navigating polarlandscapes, the journeys collected in Offthe Road are as unique as the people whotake them. From radical escapists to fansof nature looking for their next trip, thebook celebrates the joy of being on the goon four wheels.

Sexy Just Got Rich: Brit Babes Do Billionaires


Lucy FelthouseK.D. Grace - 2015
    In this brand new anthology of erotic BDSM stories the Brit Babes offer heroes and heroines who aren’t shy about taking what they want. From farmyards to luxury penthouses, wealth is all about sating needs, connecting souls and taking pleasure to new highs. Whether you’re looking for a coffee break read or something longer to curl up in bed with, you’ll find something to suit your needs in Sexy Just Got Rich.

Wild Nights: Camping Britain's Extremes


Phoebe Smith - 2015
    . . Britain’s most famous wild camper and bestselling author of Extreme Sleeps, Phoebe Smith, is back. After bivvying under boulders and camping in caves on her last tent-bound adventure, she’s decided to hit the UK’s wild places once again, but this time take it further. Determined to discover what defines a truly "extreme" night out, and see if she has the guts to do it, she heads to the extremities of the country. Battling whiteouts in Wales, facing monster waves in Suffolk, and attempting to make camp in gale-force winds on Britain’s highest mountain, Phoebe takes us on a series of inspirational expeditions into the wilderness as she quests to find the ultimate pitch.

Calgary's Best Walks


Lori Beattie - 2015
    Walking makes me happy. I enjoy the fresh air, the time to think, and the freedom to explore. I also love the simplicity. You don’t need special gear or skills to go for a walk, just practical footwear, a few layers of clothes, and the ability to put one foot in front of the other: left, right, left, right.Exploring Calgary on foot is ideal for anyone, no matter their interests. Taking a walk in the city can help you satisfy your desire to explore and experience wilderness, art, and gardens; rivers, reservoirs, hills and flatlands; as well as the urban core and quiet communities, on trails that end at a local café, restaurant or ice cream shop. It is this vast range of treasures in such a small space that makes walking in Calgary so enjoyable, so stimulating. Walk through neighbourhoods and observe or interact with gardeners, front-porch sitters, or other walkers. See and be seen on a walk along a bustling commercial street. Or log off and reconnect with nature by getting off the beaten track and onto a more remote one.Walking outside is the perfect way to clear your head, to shake up your routine and put things into perspective. It’s also a great activity to engage in with your kids, your family, and your friends. Conversations flow when you walk. What else is there to do but chat and observe? And all that fresh air and Alberta sunshine does wonders for your mood.The routes included in this book introduce you to parts of the city that may be new to you. Use the routes as guidelines and then expand on them. Change your route midstride and explore. The fun part about urban walking is the unknown, the surprises around unexplored corners. Create your own urban walkabouts, and let me know if you uncover hidden stairways, pathways, or secret neighbourhood cafés. See you out there!

Hiking Waterfalls in Tennessee: A Guide to the State's Best Waterfall Hikes


Johnny Molloy - 2015
    Hike descriptions include history, local trivia, and GPS coordinates. Hiking Waterfalls in Tennessee will take you through state and national parks, forests, monuments and wilderness areas, and from popular city parks to the most remote and secluded corners of the area to view the most spectacular waterfalls.

The President's Salmon: Restoring the King of Fish and its Home Waters


Catherine Schmitt - 2015
    Twenty-two thousand years ago, someone carved a life-sized image of Atlantic salmon in the floor of a cave in southern France. Salmon were painted on rocks in Norway and Sweden. The salmon’s effortless leaping and ability to survive in both river and sea led the Celts to mythologize the salmon as holder of all mysterious knowledge, gained by consuming the nine hazelnuts of wisdom that fell into the Well of Segais. The President's Salmon presents a rich cultural and biological history of the Atlantic salmon and the salmon fishery, primarily revolving around the Penobscot River, the last bastion for the salmon in America and a key location for the preservation of the species.

Step Into Nature: Nurturing Imagination and Spirit in Everyday Life


Patrice Vecchione - 2015
    From the author of Writing and the Spiritual Life comes a guide that will replenish your connection to the earth and inspire you to develop and strengthen your imagination.The natural world has inspired artists, seekers, and thinkers for millennia, but in recent times, as the pace of life has sped up, its demands have moved us indoors. Yet nature’s capacity to lead us to important truths, to invigorate and restore our imagination and equilibrium, is infinite.Step Into Nature makes nature personal again by stimulating awareness and increasing our understanding of the environment. But being in nature doesn’t mean flying off to remote, faraway places. Nature is as close as opening your front door—and opening your heart to the sky above, the miniature gardens that push their way up between the sidewalk cracks in our cities, and the small stream just down the road.Patrice Vecchione demonstrates how nature can support and enhance your creative output, invigorate your curiosity, and restore your sense of connection to and love of the earth. Included throughout the book is “The Cabinet of Curiosities,” exercises and suggestions for practical and unexpected ways to stimulate your imagination, deepen your relationship with nature, and experience the harmony between creativity and the natural world.

Mosses of Dry Forests in South Eastern Australia


Cassia Read - 2015
    

Camp Granny


Sharon Lovejoy - 2015
    More than an activity book, CAMP GRANNY is an interactivity book, filled with 130 projects that connect grandparents and grandchildren through nature—in the kitchen, the garden, and the art room. Illustrated with evocative photographs and the author’s watercolors, CAMP GRANNY is a book about being adventurous, about being curious, about noticing and really seeing things—about instilling a lifelong sense of wonder. Please note: CAMP GRANNY was previously sold under the title Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars.

Canoeing Wild Rivers: The 30th Anniversary Guide to Expedition Canoeing in North America (How to Paddle Series)


Cliff Jacobson - 2015
    This thirtieth-anniversary edition expertly details everything you need to know about paddling the continent's wild rivers.

Stories From The Field: A History of Wilderness Therapy


Will White - 2015
    Following up on his doctoral dissertation, Will White looks back and constructs a thorough history from 1860-1988, opening Stories from the Field with the 19th century character camps of New England and progressing over the decades, with the invitation to young women and eventually, adolescents in need of therapeutic help. Will first assimilates the emergent influences of the prevailing social theory, regarding the hazards of leisure in the burgeoning upper class of America, the iconography of outdoor adventures and a few philanthropic visionaries. In this way, Stories from the Field expands the staid history of dates and names, breathing life into the characters and context of old. Will condenses the disparate trends of a century of experimentation into a cogent framework of what is now loosely called “wilderness therapy”. Atop this rich chronicle of the previously unsung originators, Will then invited recent game-changers to add to the communal story, providing their enhancements and visions to the account of the continuously evolving treatment model of “outdoor behavioral healthcare.” The other pages hold contemporary Stories from the Field, providing narrative accounts from founders and/or leaders of wilderness therapy organizations developed since 1988 and which provide treatment for families today. These authors have contributed their company stories to help illuminate the diversity and intentions of the present field, confirm the validity and attention that supports the work, and knowing full-well that this inspires tomorrow’s innovators to climb higher and doing even better work for the families we serve.