Joy of Backpacking: Your complete guide to attaining pure happiness in the outdoors

Front Cover
Wilderness Press, May 7, 2007 - Sports & Recreation - 336 pages
A comprehensive guide covering every aspect of how to backpackÑfrom planning a first trip to advanced wilderness travel. For those new to the activity, longtime backpacker and author Brian Beffort covers the fundamentals, with sections on trip planning, gear, backcountry nutrition and cooking, navigation, and other essential wilderness skills. You will also learn what to expect on the trail and in camp, and how to stay safe with first aid, weather preparedness, and more. For experienced packers, this book is filled with practical tips and inspired ideas on how to update and refine your approach to backpacking based on trends in lightweight gear, high-tech gadgets, changing wilderness rules, and increasing opportunities for wilderness travel around the world.
 

Contents

Introduction
1
Planning Your Trip
7
1 Choosing a Trip
9
2 Choosing a Destination
12
3 Backpacking with Others
19
4 Backpacking with Kids
24
Backpacking Gear
41
5 Determining Your Needs
43
Joy on the Trail
157
19 The Hike In
159
20 Making Camp
172
21 Hiking Hygiene
181
22 Breaking Camp Going Home
187
Safety and Comfort in the Backcountry
191
23 Weather and Preparedness
193
Insects Snakesand Poisonous Plants
205

6 Clothing
58
7 Footwear
65
8 Backpacks
72
9 Shelter
76
10 Sleeping Bags
81
11 Camp Kitchen
86
12 Equipment Care
97
Food and Water
101
13 Nutrition for the Backcountry
103
14 Cooking in the Backcountry
111
Preparing for the Trail
125
15 Wilderness Navigation
127
16 Other Essential Backcountry Skills
136
17 Getting Fit for the Trail
145
18 Packing for the Trail
152
Wildlife
211
26 First Aid
218
Advanced Backcountry Skills and Travel
233
27 Trips for the Experienced Backpacker
235
28 Backpacking in Extreme Weather and Climates
241
29 More Backcountry Travel
249
Gear Checklists
253
Backpacking and Hiking Organizations and Resources
256
Manufacturer Contact Information
257
Bibliography
260
Index
263
About the Author
268
BACK COVER
269
Copyright

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About the author (2007)

Some of Brian Beffort's favorite moments have taken place while exploring the American West and other parts of the world while carrying everything he needs on his back. He is also the author of Afoot & Afield Las Vegas & Southern Nevada: A Comprehensive Hiking Guide. He currently lives in Reno, Nevada, with his wife, son, and dog, and he works as the Associate Director of Friends of Nevada Wilderness.

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