Just thought I'd start a thread in which we can share any suggested links to backpacking sites on the web, or recommend and reading on the subject.

Once I get back near my home computer and books, I will happily share what information I have.

Cheers,
Canuck

I have read gazillions of books on backpacking and related subjects; for a few years, I owned my own bookstore in a town well known for it's environmentalist and backpacker/skier/mountaineer lifestyle. I read much of this material as part of my "job" in order to be able to recommend books to my customers, based on having actually read the tome under consideration.

What little bush knowledge I have did not come from books and you cannot learn to be a skilled, self-reliant bushman from books. In fact, most books about the outdoors are simply bullshit, written by professional journalists with little field experience. There are a FEW books that are well worth reading and two or three that I consider VERY much worth the time spent perusing them.

I suggest, for the conditions in COLD country, like western Canada, the following.

Bear Encounter Survival Guide by James Gary Shelton-Pallister Publishing-250-982-2936

This is the BEST book about dealing with BEARS that I know of and although the attitude concerning the B.C. environment expressed by the author is highly debatable, (he is an American who does not really understand B.C. culture), the material on coping with BEAR dangers is the best going. I am about his age and have at least as much B.C. bush experience; I would make slightly different recommendations on certain points, but, this book should be memorized by everyone who goes into Bear country.

Winter Wise-Monty Alford--THE real deal on living outdoors in real cold. I absolutely recommend this book for the advice on cold weather that may save your life, IF, you follow his methods. I would buy this book ahead of ANY "survival" manual on the market, especially those....How to live in the woods on....blah, blah, blah....typical bullshit.

I will have a few other suggestions over the next few weeks,but, starting with a single, over-night trip near home and rescue is the best way to learn as you gradually increase your experience and risk exposure as your new skills develope. The best piece of advice that anyone can give a backpacker, especially in cold, wet, very remote wilderness is...macho behaviour is for dickheads, cautious mountaineers come back home....

A book that I really enjoyed when I was into backpacking was The Complete Walker by Colin Fletcher.I think that is his name.That book is a classic.

Shootaway, I agree with you. It's a great book with some good lists--not intended for hunters, so you have to add and subtract but still a good one.

I also agree that woodsmanship can't be totally learned from books--but books can help. One is outdoor survival skills by Larry Dean Olsen. It's especially useful for those of you who live in the south. Larry used to teach survival to university kids they culminated the course with a 2 week trek. He's one of the best.

There's a show on tv called "Survivor Man " it's a Canadian guy who gets dropped into some scenerios-He's pretty good to watch too.



the chef

Funny you should start this thread. The following title really got me started in the direction of backpacking into the wild country to hunt. If you can find a copy, BUY IT!!! The title is "Hard Hunting" by Patrick Shaughnessy and Diane Swingle. It was published by Winchester Press in 1978. These two young people shanks mared it into all sorts of places in British Columbia from the Ominecas to the Cassiars. He usea a .270 and she packed a .300 H&H. Now that's a girl after my own heart. They killed everthing; sheep, bear, goats, moose, wolverine, etc. And they did it all on their own without guide service. It is a very enjoyable read. Surely some of you Canadians have read it.

Sheep Hunting in Alaska by Tony Russ is a good read. Not a must read but, has alot of basic info and is easy to come by.
John 358

Yellowstone,

I do have a copy of that book. Its a pretty good read.

Cheers,
Canuck

I'm former Army infantry. I was a Sgt./squad leader in a search&destroy team in the HiepDuc & QueSon valleys in Vietnam. Our patrols were 30days out on a mission with a 3 day stand-down between missions. We lived out of our rucks. We used the humble- over weight/heavy! medium sized Alice pack and then web gear to augment it. We were resupplied by helicopter from DaNang ever 4 days. So we only had to hump 4 days of food, water, ammo & C-4. But a few times we ran out and they couldn't get in our normal re-supply on schedule- nothing worse than to be in a fire-fight and run out of ammo!! I can tell you allot about living out of a backpack for a LONG time....

With- 'C'rations, LRRPs, water, gear, ammo for your personal M-16 and 200 rounds for the squad's M-60, C-4, & grenades our rucks normally weighed around 110#s !!
And 5 months of the year in Vietnam are the monsoons- so you live in your poncho....

With all of this said- my favorite website for backpacking information is SGT.ROCK's Hiking HQ - most of the people who post there are serious backpackers who are former or current military. We share an incredible amount of to the moment information on everything you need to know about the fine art of superlight backpacking. Sgt.Rock is an active duty 1stSgt.(E-8) and lives along the Appalachian Trail.

quote:

Originally posted by yellowstone:
Funny you should start this thread. The following title really got me started in the direction of backpacking into the wild country to hunt. If you can find a copy, BUY IT!!! The title is "Hard Hunting" by Patrick Shaughnessy and Diane Swingle. It was published by Winchester Press in 1978. These two young people shanks mared it into all sorts of places in British Columbia from the Ominecas to the Cassiars. He usea a .270 and she packed a .300 H&H. Now that's a girl after my own heart. They killed everthing; sheep, bear, goats, moose, wolverine, etc. And they did it all on their own without guide service. It is a very enjoyable read. Surely some of you Canadians have read it.

Just ordered a copy.

I have read this book about three times and I used to live in the bush just south of where Swingle and Shaugnessy hunted, a few years before they were there. I was back there last July and things have changed a great deal in the interim. This is a "fun" book, but, it is not a very good "manual" for wilderness tripping for the novice from urban areas as, I think, Canuck would agree.

I also have "The Complete Walker" and various editions of "Freedom of the Hills"; these books are VERY much worth reading several times. I have Larry Dean Olsen's book, this stuff is fine for obtaining Boy Sprout badges, it has little to do with present-day backpacking or survival reality. Knapping chert or flint arrowheads????? When you are cold, wet, terrified and starving hungry????? Why waste the energy?????

I also VERY strongly suggest getting and reading the "Avalanche Handbook" by Perla and Martinelli, U.S.F.S. for ANYONE who treks in the mountains in the winter. This is the real deal and many mountain guides I know, including my friend, the late John Carter who was tragically killed in an avalanche in Kokanee Park 10 years ago, insist that their clients read this book...and so would I.

Two other books that may be out of print, but, are very sound and worth searching out are:

The Wilderness Handbook by legendary American mountaineer, the late Paul Petzoldt. He was disliked by many "cool" '60's types for his huge ego, but, he was the real deal and knew his stuff; his book shows that and is the best general backpacking, etc. text I have ever seen.

Modern Survival by Dwight Schuh, a outdoors writer, bowhunter and backpacker who put this little gem together in the '70s. This is a real, practical, no-bullshit manual on what to carry, do and not do in emergencies. It is based on using common materials to survive instead of some "old-timer's" supposed wisdom and his ideas do work and are easy to remember when you are under the stress of being "lost". I highly recommend this book.

If, you are a novice backpacker/hunter, do not clutter your mind with popular bullshit from some asshole who moved to B.C. in the "hippy era" from freakin' New York or Los Angeles and lived on his fat pension while pretending to be a bushman. There were quite a few of those, a certain "B.A." comes to mind.............

Try to find the books I have listed, they are really worth the time, trouble and expense.

Kutenay - Is "The Complete Walker" by Colin Fletcher?

I'll take a look at some of these. Thanks for the advice.

Also, is the Backpacker's Field Manual by Rick Curtis worth reading? My wife picked this up for me from the local bookstore but a cursory glance makes me think that it's pretty basic stuff and the guy appears to go a little overboard on the "leave no trace behind" concept even though I agree with much of it.

Yes, to your initial question and I don't know on the second one. I very seldom read anything on backpacking, guns, hunting and bushcraft and haven't for quite a few years, other than a few forums.(Very few.)

I am too busy hiking, reading history, ecology and handloading/shooting to do much else. I should have retired at 25, not 55!

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:
A book that I really enjoyed when I was into backpacking was The Complete Walker by Colin Fletcher.I think that is his name.That book is a classic.

I was searching for the title,then saw you mentioned it.

It is "the bible" of backpacking.It imparts to you the flavor, the feel of grit in your teeth you experience when backpacking,compared to watching a documentary or maybe living in a motorhome or htel in a national park

It is the book I recommend to anyone that wants to enter a life of self reliance.It is almost religious way I recall.

enough BS . it has nothing to do with "the north" or hunting.It has everything to do with backpacking

Kind of funny...I did a search for The Complete Walker and found a bunch of them for less than $3.00. Gonna cost me more to ship it than buy it.

I am in BC, where can I find a copy of this book "hard hunting"?

thanks

I ordered a copy of Hard Hunting for $15 from http://www.alibris.com

However, looks like the cheapest one for sale on that site right now is $45.

No, I never intended to say that hard hunting was a manual, but it is almost thirty years later, motivational. Colin Fletcher's writings are still on track although gear has changed some since he walked through time and down the Pacific Crest. You guys my peruse Patrick Smith's forums and articles on the Kifaru website. I've dug out some plums there as well.

another really good link for backpacking stuff
Jeff's Hiking Pages

Here's one I really like.

Gear reviews and Gear List from Tony Dingess' Alaskan hunting website.

Thanks Kuteynay, Thanks for your recommendations.
CaptKack, Yhenks for the link!

Sorry for the miss spellings. I did it fast. Typing very bad! No disrespect intended.
best regards,