Book picks similar to
River Rescue: A Manual for Whitewater Safety by Les Bechdel
les
nature
outdoors
recreation
On the Run: An Angler's Journey Down the Striper Coast
David DiBenedetto - 2003
Writer and angler David DiBenedetto followed this great migration -- the fall run -- for three months in the autumn of 2001.On the Run offers vivid portrayals of the zany and obsessive characters DiBenedetto met on his travels -- including the country's most daring fisherman, an underwater videographer who chucked his corporate job in favor of filming striped bass, and the reclusive angler who claims that catching the world-record striper in 1982 sent his life into a tailspin. Along his route, DiBenedetto also delves into the natural history and biology of this great game fish, and depicts the colorful cultures of the seaside communities where the striped bass reigns supreme.
Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills
The Mountaineers Club - 1960
Simultaneous.
When I Walk, I Bounce: Walking from Land's End to John o'Groats
Mark Moxon - 2007
In this entertaining and frequently hilarious book, Mark takes us on a journey not only of 1111 miles, but of the highs and lows of long-distance walking.'I read the entire journey cover to cover in a couple of days. Totally fascinating, very amusing.' - Howard J'I highly recommend that people read it from start to finish. It is a great tale ' - Peter K'Thank you for being so enthusiastic about travelling and revealing your passion in such a constructive way ' - Jenny S'A certain cure for a jaded outlook.' - Marilyn S'You can't put it down.' - Frank W'A great job ' - Kevin P
Survive!: Essential Skills and Tactics to Get You Out of Anywhere - Alive
Les Stroud - 2008
Readers will learn:How to make a survival shelter and why a lean-to is largely a waste of time.Why survival kits are important, and why you should make your own.Where to find water and why drinking contaminated water is sometimes warranted.How to locate and trap small animals and why the notion of tracking and hunting large game is largely a pipe dream.Whether seasoned in the outdoor arts or new to adventuring, all readers will learn something from Survive!. Stroud's many colorful anecdotes and cut-to-the-chase philosophy not only make for an entertaining read, but also enhance anyone's ability to focus on the main goal when everything else has gone wrong—survival.
Coastal Cruising Made Easy (The American Sailing Association's Coastal Cruising Made Easy)
American Sailing Association
The text is published in full color and contains striking sailing photography from well-known photographer Billy Black, and world-class illustrations from award-winning illustrator Peter Bull. One of the text's most distinguishing features is its user friendly "spreads" in which instructional topics are self-contained on opposing pages throughout the book. This easy to read learning tool follows the critically acclaimed Sailing Made Easy, which Sailing Magazine called "best in class" upon its release in 2010. Sailing Made Easy is the #1 resource in basic sailing education, and Coastal Cruising Made Easy is poised to become the industry standard in intermediate sailing education.
Life Lived Wild: Adventures at the Edge of the Map
Rick Ridgeway - 2021
Whether at elevation or raising a family back at sea level, those years taught him, he writes, “to distinguish matters of consequence from matters of inconsequence.” He leaves it to his readers, though, to do the final sort of which is which.Some of his travels made, and remain, news: the first American ascent of K2; the first direct coast-to-coast traverse of Borneo; the first crossing on foot of a 300-mile corner of Tibet so remote no outsider had ever seen it. Big as these trips were, Rick keeps an eye out for the quiet surprises, like the butterflies he encounters at 23,000 feet on K2 or the furtive silhouettes of wild-eared pheasants in Tibet.What really comes through best in Life Lived Wild, though, are his fellow travelers. There’s Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, and Doug Tompkins, best known for cofounding The North Face but better remembered for his conservation throughout South America. Some companions don’t make the return journey. Rick treats them all with candor and straightforward tenderness. And through their commitments to protecting the wild places they shared, he discovers his own.A master storyteller, this long-awaited memoir is the book end to Ridgeway’s impressive list of publications, including Seven Summits (Grand Central Publishing, 1988), The Shadow of Kilmanjaro (Holt, 1999), and The Big Open (National Geographic, 2005).
Pacific Crest Trail Data Book: Mileages, Landmarks, Facilities, Resupply Data, and Essential Trail Information for the Entire Pacific Crest Trail, from Mexico to Canada
Benedict Go - 2000
Packed with trail-tested features, it’s useful both on and off the trail, covering pre-trip planning for resupply stops, how to set daily on-the-trail mileage goals by knowing trail gradient and the locations of campsites, water sources, and facilities, and how to easily calculate distances between any two points on the trail, and how to planning both north-bound and south-bound hiking trips.
Rock Climbing Anchors: A Comprehensive Guide
Craig Luebben - 2006
Solid anchors and proper rope techniques can prevent a fall from turning into a catastrophe, while bad anchors are an accident waiting to happen," says certified guide Craig Luebben, who invented his own type of climbing protection, the Big Bro. Since then, he taught rock climbing to hundreds of clients and has conducted self-rescue clinics across the United States. He distills more than twenty-five years of experience into Rock Climbing Anchors.This entry in the Mountaineers Outdoor Expert Series, for intermediate-to-advanced climbers, presents modern anchoring ideas and techniques for top-roping, rappelling, sport climbing, traditional rock climbing, and mountaineering-all in one comprehensive guide. Luebben covers the finer points of all types of commonly used anchors: removable anchors including hexes, wired nuts, tri-cams, expanding wedges, expandable tubes, and cams; natural anchors such as trees and boulders; and fixed anchors like bolts and pitons. Photos show a variety of gear placements, accompanied by discussion of the pros and cons of each.
Echoes: One Climber's Hard Road to Freedom
Nick Bullock - 2012
Then he discovered the mountains. Making up for lost time, Bullock soon became one of Britain's best climbers, learning his trade in Scotland and Wales, before travelling from Pakistan to Peru.
No Shortage of Good Days
John Gierach - 2011
Consider this observation about fishing: "From my own experience I can say that a bad back makes you hike slower, stove-up knees keep you from wading confidently, tendinitis of the elbow buggers your casting, and a dose of giardia can send you dashing into the bushes fifteen times in an afternoon, but although none of this is fun, it's discernibly better than not fishing."Or this explanation for every fisherman's fascination with small streams: "The idea is to fish obscure headwater creeks in hopes of eventually sniffing out an underappreciated little trout creek down an un-marked dirt road. Why is another question. I suppose it's partly for the fishing itself and partly to satisfy your curiosity, but mostly to sustain the belief that such things are still out there to find for those willing to look."And perhaps the ultimate explanation for the fishing obsession: "I briefly wondered how much trouble a guy should go to in order to catch a few little trout, but then any fish becomes worth catching to the extent that you can't catch it, so the answer was obvious: Once you decide to try, you go to as much trouble as it takes."In "No Shortage of Good Days "Gierach takes usfrom the Smokies in Tennessee to his home waters in Colorado, from the Canadian Maritimes to Mexico--saltwater or fresh, it's all fishing and all irresistible. As always he writes perceptively about a wide range of subjects: the charm of familiar waters, the etiquette 27.99 of working with new fishing guides, night fishing when the trout and the mosquitoes are both biting, fishing while there is still slush on the river, fishing snobbery, and the delights of fresh fish cooked and eaten within sight of where it was caught. "No Shortage of Good Days "may be the next best thing to a day of fishing.
How to Sail Around the World: Advice and Ideas for Voyaging Under Sail
Hal Roth - 2003
Since then, he's logged more than 200,000 sea miles. Along the way, Roth also has authored eight voyaging classics, including the 1978 bestseller After 50,000 Miles.Taking that book as its starting point, this handsome new volume incorporates the new technologies and discoveries of the last quarter century along with another 150,000 miles of experience.A compendium of mature, time-tested sea wisdom from one of the world's most respected sailing writers, How to Sail Around the World will tell the reader:How to choose and equip a sailboat for long-distance cruising, with an emphasis on simplicity and a modest budgetHow to plan and conduct a voyage anywhere in the worldHow to master the arts of navigation, anchoring, and daily life aboard in exotic placesHow to cope with storms at sea--the most complete and authoritative treatise on this critical topic ever published
Acadia: The Complete Guide: Mt Desert Island & Acadia National Park
James Kaiser - 2005
From outdoor adventures (hiking, biking, sea kayaking, sailing) to the top lobster restaurants in Bar Harbor, Acadia: The Complete Guide puts the best of Acadia at your fingertips. Fascinating chapters on geology, history, ecology and wildlife bring the park to life. Over 20 detailed maps make travel planning easy.Written and photographed by Maine native James Kaiser, Acadia: The Complete Guide offers dozens of insider tips to help you make the most of your time in the park. Whatever your interests—driving the Park Loop Road, hiking to the top of Cadillac Mountain, biking the Rockefeller Carriage Roads, sailing past historic Bass Harbor Lighthouse—Acadia: The Complete Guide is the only travel guide you'll need.The Bestselling Guidebook to Acadia for over a Decade!Over 150 Color PhotographsOver 20 Detailed MapsFascinating Chapters on Geology, Ecology, Wildlife and HistoryDetailed Info on Hiking, Biking, Sea Kayaking and SailingFilled with Tips to Save You Time and Money!
Journey on the Crest
Cindy Ross - 1987
Her book is about the fear of an ordinary person doing extraordinary things. . . . It is good to read of someone who is just crammed full of courage, guts, spirit and determination." --Smoke Blanchard, Walking Up and Down in the WorldCindy Ross had already hiked the 2000-mile length of the Appalachian Trail when, hoping to escape a deadening daily routine and sort out her life, she returned to the wild. But this time it was a more rugged arena: the Pacific Crest Trail, a mostly mountainous, 2600-mile route from Mexico to Canada, vastly different from the relatively gentle, well-traveled Appalachian Trail.Her trip began--badly--in the California desert, where the hiking "partner" she had selected from an advertisement proved to be totally inexperienced and so strange that they parted company the first day. Continuing alone, Ross soon became the de facto leader of a motley, ever-changing crew of PCT walkers that came to be known as "Cindy's Circus." Long, rugged hiking days produced physical ailments and strong emotions, but in confronting and surmounting these challenges, Ross grew in strength. After many months and several major changes in her life, Ross beat fall snows and storms to reach the Canadian border. More than the end of the trail, this was also a symbolic milestone in her life.In narrating her story, Ross deftly brings the reader into the physical and emotional landscape of long-distance hiking. Her cast of "Crest characters" is sharply drawn in both words and sketches.
Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival
Norman Ollestad - 2009
Resentful of a childhood lost to his father’s reckless and demanding adventures, young Ollestad was often paralyzed by fear. Set in Malibu and Mexico in the late 1970s, the book captures the earthy surf culture of Southern California; the boy’s conflicted feelings for his magnetic father; and the exhilarating tests of skill in the surf and snow that prepared young Norman to become a fearless surfer and ski champion--which ultimately saved his life.In February 1979, just as he was reaping the rewards of his training, a chartered Cessna carrying Norman, his father, his father’s girlfriend, and the pilot, crashed into the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California and was suspended at eight thousand feet, engulfed in a blizzard. Norman’s father, his coach and hero, was dead, and the 11-year old Ollestad had to descend the mountain alone and grief-stricken, through snow and ice, without any gear.Stunningly, the boy defied the elements and put his father’s passionate lessons to work. As he told the LA Times after his ordeal, “My dad told me never to give up.”
Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America's National Parks
Q.T. Luong - 2016
After Congress viewed photos of Yosemite, President Lincoln was moved to sign a bill that paved the way for the U.S. National Park Service, which was founded in 1916 and is now celebrating its centennial. In Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America's National Parks, photographer QT Luong pays tribute to the millions of acres of protected wilderness in our country's 59 national parks. Luong, who is featured in Ken Burns's and Dayton Duncan's documentary The National Parks: America's Best Idea, is one the most prolific photographers working in the national parks and the only one to have made large-format photographs in each of them. In an odyssey that spanned more than 20 years and 300 visits, Luong focused his lenses on iconic landscapes and rarely seen remote views, presenting his journey in this sumptuous array of more than 500 breathtaking images. Accompanying the collection of scenic masterpieces is a guide that includes maps of each park, as well as extended captions that detail where and how the photographs were made. Designed to inspire visitors to connect with the parks and invite photographers to re-create these landscapes, the guide also provides anecdotal observations that give context to the pictures and convey the sheer scope of Luong's extraordinary odyssey. Including an introduction by award-winning author and documentary filmmaker Dayton Duncan, Treasured Lands is a rich visual tour of the U.S. National Parks and an invaluable guide from a photographer who hiked - or paddled, dived, skied, snowshoed, and climbed - each park, shooting in all kinds of terrain, in all seasons, and at all times of day. QT Luong's timeless gallery of the nation's most revered landscapes beckons to nature lovers, armchair travelers, and photography enthusiasts alike, keeping America's natural wonders within reach.