Book picks similar to
Mountaineering Essays by John Muir
non-fiction
mountaineering
nature
science
Cabin at Singing River: One Woman's Story of Building a Home in the Wilderness
Chris Czajkowski - 1991
There, she single-handedly cleared the land and — despite a total lack of experience in construction — built her own house.More than simply a lyrical celebration of the natural world, Cabin at Singing River is a story of courage, perseverance and imagination. From the moment Chris sets her inexperienced foot into an unsteady canoe until the triumphant day she stands back to survey the log house she has built, we are irresistibly drawn into her remarkable journey toward independence.
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
Lives in Ruins: Archeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble
Marilyn Johnson - 2014
The news is full of archaeology: treasures found (British king under parking lot) and treasures lost (looters, bulldozers, natural disaster, and war). Archaeological research tantalizes us with possibilities (are modern humans really part Neandertal?). Where are the archaeologists behind these stories? What kind of work do they actually do, and why does it matter?Marilyn Johnson’s Lives in Ruins is an absorbing and entertaining look at the lives of contemporary archaeologists as they sweat under the sun for clues to the puzzle of our past. Johnson digs and drinks alongside archaeologists, chases them through the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and even Machu Picchu, and excavates their lives. Her subjects share stories we rarely read in history books, about slaves and Ice Age hunters, ordinary soldiers of the American Revolution, children of the first century, Chinese woman warriors, sunken fleets, mummies.What drives these archaeologists is not the money (meager) or the jobs (scarce) or the working conditions (dangerous), but their passion for the stories that would otherwise be buried and lost.
Diplomatic Incidents
Cherry Denman - 2010
This is Cherry Denman's witty take on her life trailing husband Charlie round some of the most godforsaken outposts of the world. Illustrated by brilliantly funny cartoons of diplomatic life, this is a collection of clever and very funny tales of global misunderstanding.
Being Caribou
Karsten Heuer - 2005
In April 2003, wildlife biologist Karsten Heuer and filmmaker Leanne Allison embarked on a five-month research journey to follow the 2,000-mile migration of a herd of 120,000 Porcupine Caribou, from their winter range to their calving grounds in Alaska, and back again. From Old Crow, Yukon, the Heuers followed ancient paths and the primordial rhythms of the herd through Canada and over the border to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the United States. The couple travelled on foot and by ski through unforgiving landscapes; fording swift, deadly cold rivers, as well as encountering ravenous grizzlies who tracked them as prey. Having began the expedition as seasoned outdoor adventurers, Karsten and Leanne soon learned they would only be able to find and discern the intent of the herd by adopting the ancient ways of the area's indigenous people. Advised by a Gwich'in native in Old Crow at the start of their trip to "listen to dreams", Karsten and Leanne find they must shed the many insulating layers of pragmatism that distance them from the natural world. They discover a transformational truth in listening to the music of the earth, paying attention to the urgings within dreams, and in truly, beyond their expectations, being caribou.
Grand Canyon: The Complete Guide: Grand Canyon National Park
James Kaiser - 2006
This guide divides the attractions into sections—the North Rim, South Rim, Colorado River, and Havasu Falls—with lodging, dining, and camping information given for each. Outfitters for hiking, backpacking, mule rides, and rafting adventures are listed, and carefully researched chapters about the park's history, geology, and wildlife encourage leisurely study of the area's unmatched natural beauty. This book is the winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award for best full-color travel guide and the Independent Publisher Award for best travel guide. About The Complete Guides:With a large number of beautiful, high-quality color photographs, these guides are as browsable as the best coffee table books but also supply travelers with maps, travel tips, and extensive listings for lodging, camping, and sightseeing.
Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession, and the Hunt for the World Record Tarpon
Monte Burke - 2020
The best fly anglers in the world—Lefty Kreh, Stu Apte, Ted Williams, Tom Evans, Billy Pate and others—all gathered together to chase the same Holy Grail: The world record for the world’s most glamorous and sought-after fly rod species, the tarpon. The anglers would meet each morning for breakfast. They would compete out on the water during the day, eat dinner together at night, socialize and party. Some harder than others. The world record fell nearly every year. But records weren’t the only things that were broken. Hooks, lines, rods, reels, hearts and marriages didn’t survive, either. The egos involved made the atmosphere electric. The difficulty of the quest made it legitimate. The drugs and romantic entanglements that were swept in with the tide would finally make it all veer out of control. It was a confluence of people and place that had never happened before in the world of fishing and will never happen again. It was a collision of the top anglers and the top species of fish which would lead to smashed lives for nearly all involved, man and fish alike. In Lords of the Fly, Burke, an obsessed tarpon fly angler himself, delves into this incredible moment. He examines the growing popularity of the tarpon, an amazing fish has been around for 50 million years, can live to 80 years old and can grow to 300 pounds in weight. It is a massive, leaping, bullet train of a fish. When hooked in shallow water, it produces “immediate unreality,” as the late poet and tarpon obsessive, Richard Brautigan, once described it. Burke also chronicles the heartbreaking destruction that exists as a result—brought on by greed, environmental degradation and the shenanigans of a notorious Miami gangster—and how all of it has shaped our contemporary fishery. Filled with larger-than-life characters and vivid prose, Lords of the Fly is not only a must read for anglers of all stripes, but also for those interested in the desperate yearning of the human condition.
Of Men and Mountains
William O. Douglas - 2015
Douglas. It is an account of the way Douglas and other men found a richer life in the mountains and how they found something else besides.In such country Douglas has noted, "Men can find deep solitude and under conditions of grandeur that are startling, he can come to know both himself and God."The men of the story are such legendary characters as Roy Schaeffer and Jack Nelson, and the sheepherders, Indians, fisherman, and foresters who have learned to survive in the wilderness and enjoy it.