Walking Softly in the Wilderness

Rating:
Summary: Another view on >Walking Softly<
Review: "Literate, environmentally sensitive, and chock full of valuable advice, John Hart's book is one of the finest texts ever published on backpacking." --National Outdoor Book Awards, 1999

Rating:
Summary: A little bit of something for everyone
Review: "Walking Softly In The Wilderness" is an excellent, if not a little outdated, overview of all the considerations, choices, and deliberations to be reviewed in the world of backpacking. John Hart does not tell you what gear to buy and where to backpack. Instead, he very clearly explains the advantages and disadvantages of all types of gear, from boots to packs. He sets up a clear method for the reader to decide what is best for him/her in the circumstances that person wants to face and may face. Mr. Hart also describes a variety of techniques, like how to read a map and compass, how to build an igloo, and even how to administer basic first aid. Included is a brief description of the different wildlife areas across the nation and what they are like in different seasons.
But to me, the most important aspect of the book are the discussions on low-impact techniques and choices. Low-impact backpacking is not only a good idea, it is a necessity. With today's shrinking wilderness and growing use, we need to help protect it. Mr. Hart has done an excellent job of showing us the pros and cons of low-impact backpacking and has left the choice up to us.
If this were a newer addition, I certainly would have given it 5 stars, but I feel it is deffinately worth four. This book is an excellent source for both the novice and the experienced backpacker. Everyone who is interested in backpacking should read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Political Correctness carried to extremes
Review: Hart's book is well rounded. Gear is not its prime focus. There is more emphasis on describing gear features, advantages, and rationale, reminiscent of Colin Fletcher, and less emphasis on comparisons of brands and models as in Chris Townsend's The Backpacker's Handbook. Hart gives a nice description of how to hang counter-balanced bear bags using a pull down rope. This technique has been around for years, but Hart is the first to give a proper description in print. The index entry for Jasper National Park leads to a nice description of places to go and things to see in the Canadian Rockies and other places. In Townsend, by contrast, the index entry for Jasper National Park takes you to a discussion of raingear! Hart has good coverage of most skills, e.g., how to set up tarps. Yet the book is reflective, offering wisdom beyond gear, unlike Townsend, which is more procedural - what to do and how to do it. The chapter on land navigation is very interesting. Hart does not present map and compass skills with the detail of Townsend, rather, the book seems to say that every place is a good place to be, so don't fret about how to get from point A to B. That is a linear objective. Maybe if you wander about, exploring without agenda like John Muir, having "skootchers," this is good enough advice. The concept of wilderness ethics runs through this book.

From a pedagogical point of view, Townsend's book may be a better book from which beginners can learn "basic" backpacking. However, after the student gets past equipment considerations, Hart's book will teach you to love to backpack.

Rating:
Summary: A Definitive Successor to Colin Fletcher!
Review: Hart's book is well rounded. Gear is not its prime focus. There is more emphasis on describing gear features, advantages, and rationale, reminiscent of Colin Fletcher, and less emphasis on comparisons of brands and models as in Chris Townsend's The Backpacker's Handbook. Hart gives a nice description of how to hang counter-balanced bear bags using a pull down rope. This technique has been around for years, but Hart is the first to give a proper description in print. The index entry for Jasper National Park leads to a nice description of places to go and things to see in the Canadian Rockies and other places. In Townsend, by contrast, the index entry for Jasper National Park takes you to a discussion of raingear! Hart has good coverage of most skills, e.g., how to set up tarps. Yet the book is reflective, offering wisdom beyond gear, unlike Townsend, which is more procedural - what to do and how to do it. The chapter on land navigation is very interesting. Hart does not present map and compass skills with the detail of Townsend, rather, the book seems to say that every place is a good place to be, so don't fret about how to get from point A to B. That is a linear objective. Maybe if you wander about, exploring without agenda like John Muir, having "skootchers," this is good enough advice. The concept of wilderness ethics runs through this book.

From a pedagogical point of view, Townsend's book may be a better book from which beginners can learn "basic" backpacking. However, after the student gets past equipment considerations, Hart's book will teach you to love to backpack.

Rating:
Summary: Reviews of new edition and invitation for input
Review: Just want to emphasize that the edition now on sale is new (1998) and completely revised. The >Los Angeles Times< said of the new it well and without damaging the environment requires skill and knowledge, from how to use a lightweight stove to keeping provisions out of bears' "Beginning with the essential gear for a backcountry trip, the book's concise, readable chapters work logically through an entire expedition, from planning to routefinding to camping to emergencies. And each chaper is packed with practical, low-impact tips that, when taken with the whole of the book, make this one of the most comprehensive guides to the how-to Hall of Fame, this is the only comprehensive guidebook to thoroughly integrate minimum impact skills."

Keeping a book like this up to date is a never-ending process. I would love to hear from readers with reactions and (especially) corrections and criticisms.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of detail but little substance
Review: The original edition of this book was published in 1977 and it and the succeeding editions are sponsored by the Sierra Club. If you are a supporter of the eco values of the Sierra Club, that is reason enough to buy the book and you will be completely in sync with the authors basic proposition that we should care for the backpacking environment. I agreed with that thought in the first edition and still agree with it all these years later in this edition. Having said that, I do not value this book highly and do not recommend it to anyone, specifically not to novice backpackers. Here is the problem; the book expends the vast majority of its pages in the detailed listing of the component parts of gear such as packs, boots or tents and spends almost no time in telling you how to utilize the gear efficiently. The very essence of backpacking is doing. Putting the pack on and going. This book goes to great lengths to itemize the various straps on a backpack but really glosses over the where and how to use it and all the other gear associated with backpacking. In other words, it definitely is not a "how to" book. For that, I recommend "The Backpacker's Handbook" by Chris Townsend.

Rating:
Summary: Political Correctness carried to extremes
Review: This book expounds endlessly on how best to limit the impact of people on the backcountry in the very best traditions of the Sierra Club. It's more of a philosophy book than a "how to" book. If anyone wants to learn how to backpack and/or camp, he would be better advised to buy the several books by Karen Berger and Chris Townsend, in particular The Backpackers Handbook.

Rating:
Summary: Political Correctness carried to extremes
Review: This book expounds endlessly on how best to limit the impact of people on the backcountry in the very best traditions of the Sierra Club. It's more of a philosophy book than a "how to" book. If anyone wants to learn how to backpack and/or camp, he would be better advised to buy the several books by Karen Berger and Chris Townsend, in particular The Backpackers Handbook.