Book picks similar to
Highpoints of the United States: A Guide to the Fifty State Summits by Don Holmes
reference
mountaineering
non-fiction
travel
A Sail of Two Idiots: 100 Hard-Won Lessons from a Non-Sailor (and Her Husband) Who Quit the Rat Race and Sailed Safely to a New Life in the Caribbea
Renee Petrillo - 2012
Despite themselves they managed to get from Miami to Grenada, eventually dropping the anchor of their cruising catamaran at the island of their dreams. Determined to save future sailors from themselves, "A Sail of Two Idiots" includes lessons Renee and Michael learned and shares them with you as examples of what and what not to do. This a how-to guide wrapped in a funny story--kind of like getting your serving of vegetables from a slice of pizza. Read this and make your dream of sailing away a reality. Includes: "What Broke?" sections explores the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of a cruising multihull "Island" section provide assessments of the islands of the Caribbean
Sea Kayaker's Deep Trouble: True Stories and Their Lessons from Sea Kayaker Magazine ROM Sea Kayaker Magazine
George Gronseth - 1997
This riveting book offers 20 harrowing, real-life tales of sea kayaking accidents that will not only keep readers on the edge of their seats, but also instruct them with potentially life-saving lessons.
Appalachian Trail Data Book
Daniel D. Chazin - 1978
hiking, each year's Data Book consolidates the most basic information from 11 detailed guidebooks into a lightweight table of distances between major Appalachian Trail shelters, road-crossings, and features. It is divided according to the guidebook volumes (one state or two or, for Virginia, parts of a state) and updated each December to account for Trail relocations, new (or removed) shelters, and other changes. In addition to codes for lodging, food, water, and other essentials, the Data Book is keyed to both the individual guidebook sections and to the separate maps. Day-hikers and long-distance hikers alike rely on this volume for armchair planning as well as on-the-trail orientation. This also is the source for the ever-changing official answer to, How long is the trail?
Rattlesnakes and Bald Eagles: Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail
Chris Townsend - 2014
Of all his adventures, those he enjoyed on America’s Pacific Crest Trail in the Eighties are among his favourites. The PCT runs 2,600 miles from Mexico to Canada through desert, forest and mountain wildernesses. In Rattlesnakes and Bald Eagles Chris recounts not only his own six month w alk but also the longer story of the Trail, and shares his ideas on how it is developing and where it is all going with his many readers. Illustrated with Chris Townsend’s photographs from his long hike, and earlier, iconic images, Rattlesnakes and Bald Eagles will be the definitive Pacific Crest Trail account
A Race Too Far
Chris Eakin - 2009
A Race Too Far is the story of how the race unfolded, and how it became a tragedy for many involved.Of the nine sailors who started the race, four realised the madness of the undertaking and pulled out within weeks. The remaining five each have their own remarkable story. Chay Blyth, fresh from rowing the Atlantic with John Ridgway, had no sailing experience but managed to sail round the Cape of Good Hope before retiring. Nigel Tetley sank whilst in the lead with 1,100 nautical miles to go, surviving but dying in tragic circumstances two years later. Donald Crowhurst began showing signs of mental illness and tried to fake a round the world voyage. His boat was discovered adrift in an apparent suicide, but his body was never found. Bernard Moitessier abandoned the race whilst in a strong position and carried on to Tahiti, where he settled and fathered a child by a local woman despite having a wife and family in Paris. Robin Knox-Johnston was the only one to complete the race.It has undoubtedly become the most legendary of modern stories of men pitting themselves against the sea. Forty years on, Chris Eakin recreates the drama of the epic race, talking to all those touched by the tragedies surrounding the Golden Globe: the survivors, the widows and the children of those who died. It is a book that both evokes the primary wonder of the adventure itself and reflects on what it has come to mean to both those involved and the rest of us in the forty years since.
Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide, Completely Revised and Updated with Over 400 New Color Photos and Illustrations
Tom Rosenbauer - 2007
A best-selling, fully illustrated, and comprehensive book, this large-format volume has been required reading for every angler for the past two decades. Included here are instructions for tackle selection; casting and presentation; flies and their specific uses; successful techniques on stream, pond, or ocean; and the select tackle, flies, and methods for pursuing every major gamefish in fresh and salt water, from bass to bonefish, tarpon to trout.
High Crimes: the Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed
Michael Kodas - 2008
In the years following the publication of Into Thin Air, much has changed on Mount Everest. Among all the books documenting the glorious adventures in mountains around the world, none details how the recent infusion of wealthy climbers is drawing crime to the highest place on the planet. The change is caused both by a tremendous boom in traffic, and a new class of parasitic and predatory adventurer. It's likely that Jon Krakauer would not recognize the camps that he visited on Mount Everest almost a decade ago. This book takes readers on a harrowing tour of the criminal underworld on the slopes of the world's most majestic mountain.High Crimes describes two major expeditions: the tragic story of Nils Antezana, a climber who died on Everest after he was abandoned by his guide; as well as the author's own story of his participation in the Connecticut Everest Expedition, guided by George Dijmarescu and his wife and climbing partner, Lhakpa Sherpa. Dijmarescu, who at first seemed well-intentioned and charming, turned increasingly hostile to his own wife, as well as to the author and the other women on the team. By the end of the expedition, the three women could not travel unaccompanied in base camp due to the threat of violence. Those that tried to stand against the violence and theft found that the worst of the intimidation had followed them home to Connecticut. Beatings, thefts, drugs, prostitution, coercion, threats, and abandonment on the highest slopes of Everest and other mountains have become the rule rather than the exception. Kodas describes many such experiences, and explores the larger issues these stories raise with thriller-like intensity.
The Trail Provides: A Boy's Memoir of Thru-Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail
David Smart - 2018
Bradley, his older, more adventurous, and slightly-wreckless college fraternity brother presents an enticing offer. Just a few weeks later, the two inexperienced hopefuls abandon society and plunge into a soul-searching sojourn to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,650-mile Mexico-to-Canada footpath--barefoot. At the trail’s mercy from day one, the two hikers face the endless pains of walking, rising tensions, and falling behind to the coming winter. The Trail Provides is a thru-hiking memoir filled with stories about companionship and lessons learned, dreams and reality, and leaving everything behind for the desire of transformation, insight, and self-discovery. Now, let’s begin the journey…
Highs and Lows on the John Muir Trail
Inga Aksamit - 2015
It is a must-read for those who plan to hike the trail or anyone interested in the trail. Written in journal style, the author’s description of the majestic scenery, camaraderie of trail friends and challenges of the terrain are engaging and informative. Along the way, trekkers will see how she and her husband met challenges head-on, lightened their load, planned meals and managed daily logistics for more than three weeks on the trail. The John Muir Trail traces an undulating path along the crest of the High Sierra with legendary elevation gains and losses of more 84,000 feet, topping out at 14,505 feet on the summit of Mt. Whitney. Updated to include a northbound section from Horseshoe Meadows to Onion Valley. Full-color photographs are included in the Kindle version only.
A Simple Life: Living off grid in a wooden cabin in France
Mary-Jane Houlton - 2021
They were already used to a simple life, having spent the last three years living on their boat in France for the summer seasons, and returning to the UK and their caravan for the winters. This tiny cabin would now be their new home for the winter months, taking them a step further along the road to self-sufficiency. They had no electricity, no kitchen, no bathroom or bedroom and the loo was a bucket in a shed, but the property came with five acres of field and woodland.From now on their lives would be simple, pared back to the basics, but they found that an off-grid lifestyle was by no means an uncomfortable experience. Responsibilities didn’t disappear but they changed, becoming less onerous. There was more time to think, and to appreciate the natural world around them. Living in such rural isolation, each day brought something new to marvel at: deer browsing in the field at dusk, salamanders on the doorstep, owls calling by night.If their own world felt increasingly magical, the outside world was far from it. They had moved to a foreign country at an historic time, living through a pandemic and adapting to the day-to-day implications of Brexit.A Simple Life doesn’t just follow Mary-Jane and Michael as they settle into their new lives, it also raises questions about what really matters to people. What makes us happy? How does it feel to have few possessions? Will life become unbearable without a flushing toilet?Thought-provoking and amusing, this book opens a window onto a different way of living. Mary-Jane shares a wealth of information and, if you have ever found yourself longing for a simpler life, this might tempt you to take those first tentative steps on the journey.
Kindle Fire HDX & HD User's Guide Book: Unleash the Power of Your Tablet!
Shelby Johnson - 2012
With the new tablet, I absolutely love its many standard features and capabilities, but have found there is so much more that can be done with this amazing gadget. I’ve learned a lot of great things you can do with a Kindle Fire HD and want to help others get more out of their Kindle Fire HDX and HD devices. I've developed a comprehensive guide book to help users along on their device, including tips and tricks to really unlock and unleash the possibilities with the tablet. Here’s just some of the great info you’ll find in this User’s Guide Book: - Getting to know the various settings of your Kindle Fire HDX or HD - Browsing your Kindle and carousel - How to store your favorite content items on the device - Setting up security options to safeguard your device - Setting up your e-mail, contacts and calendar info - Setting up and using wireless networks - How to print from your Kindle Fire HD - How to install the Dolphin Browser with Adobe Flash - How to install the Google Chrome browser on your tablet - Pairing your Kindle Fire HD with a compatible Bluetooth phone or computer - How to set-up FreeTime for your kids to use your Kindle with restrictions - How to listen to the radio on your tablet - How to use your tablet to make phone calls for free! - How to download YouTube videos to your Kindle Fire HD - How to take photos and videos with your Kindle Fire HD camera - How to sideload apps on your Kindle Fire HD - Some of the best apps you can get for your tablet - Suggested apps to take your tablet to the next level! You’ll learn all of the above and more in this book which features color screenshots straight from the Kindle and step-by-step instructions on the processes involved in unleashing more powerful features for your Kindle Fire HD! There's also helpful links throughout the guide to take you right to the apps and websites being discussed. In all, this is a must-have ebook to get for any Kindle Fire HD user who wants to take their device to the next level! Note: Many of the tips and how-to's covered in this guide will also apply to the previous generation of the Kindle Fire HD, released in 2012. Please note this book is for owners of the American version of the Kindle Fire HDX & Kindle Fire HD tablets sold as of October 2013 in the United States.
Left for Dead: My Journey Home from Everest
Beck Weathers - 2000
Then a storm exploded on the mountain, ripping the team to shreds, forcing brave men to scratch and crawl for their lives. Rescuers who reached Weathers saw that he was dying, and left him. Twelve hours later, the inexplicable occurred. Weathers appeared, blinded, gloveless, and caked with ice—walking down the mountain. In this powerful memoir, now featuring a new Preface, Weathers describes not only his escape from hypothermia and the murderous storm that killed eight climbers, but the journey of his life. This is the story of a man’s route to a dangerous sport and a fateful expedition, as well as the road of recovery he has traveled since; of survival in the face of certain death, the reclaiming of a family and a life; and of the most extraordinary adventure of all: finding the courage to say yes when life offers us a second chance. Praise for Left for Dead “Riveting . . . [a] remarkable survival story . . . Left for Dead takes a long, critical look at climbing: Weathers is particularly candid about how the demanding sport altered and strained his relationships.”—USA Today “Ultimately, this engrossing tale depicts the difficulty of a man’s struggle to reform his life.”—Publishers Weekly
Thirty Days In Quito: Two Gringos and a Three-Legged Cat Move to Ecuador
K. Kris Loomis - 2017
They left their comfy life behind and moved to Ecuador! Follow along as they battle ‘mañana’ time, stinky buses, and the dreaded ‘Frankenstein’ shower. Will they adjust to South American culture? Will Triplet learn to meow in Spanish? Will the stupid black beans ever cook at that altitude? Thirty Days In Quito: Two Gringos and a Three-Legged Cat Move to Ecuador is a humorous first-hand account of a couple stepping out of their comfort zone, holding on tight, and learning to breathe at 9,000 feet. Also by K. Kris Loomis How to Sneak More Yoga Into Your Life: A Doable Yoga Plan for Busy People How to Sneak More Meditation Into Your Life: A Doable Meditation Plan for Busy People The Monster In the Closet and Other Stories Visit www.kkrisloomis.com and get a FREE short story! You can connect with Kris on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest @kkrisloomis. Thirty Days In Quito: Two Gringos and a Three-Legged Cat Move to Ecuador is a fun read for anyone interested in travel or curious about other cultures, and future expats will get a glimpse of what moving abroad is really like!
Sailing Made Easy
The American Sailing Asa - 2010
Incorporated in the textbook are useful illustrations and exceptional photographs of complex sailing concepts. There are also quizzes at the end of each chapter, and a glossary to help those new to sailing to navigate their way through the extensive nautical terminology.