Synopses & Reviews
An expert long-distance backpacker shares secrets of the world's elite trekkers to make every hiker's adventure safer and more enjoyable.
This book is for hikers who find themselves looking to see what's over the next ridge. It's for people who have wondered what it would be like to hike the Grand Canyon, backpack across cirques of alpine scree, live outdoors when the temperature plummets below zero, hike across foreign countries, or embark on the trip of a lifetime-a thru-hike of a 2,000 mile trail.
Three sections make the information accessible and manageable. Part 1 covers the basics of expedition planning, including scheduling, route selection, and food and gear resupply. Part 2 examines the special gear and skills you need for a variety of situations, including rain, winter, high mountains, deserts, and foreign travel. Part 3 offers a wish-list of destinations with descriptions of hikes in every conceivable type of terrain and ecosystem, from saguaros to sequoias, from cactus to Krummholtz.
Synopsis
This book is for hikers who find themselves looking to see what's over the next ridge. It's for people who have wondered what it would be like to hike the Grand Canyon, backpack across cirques of alpine scree, live outdoors when the temperature plummets below zero, hike across foreign countries, or embark on the trip of a lifetime-a thru-hike of a 2,000 mile trail.
Three sections make the information accessible and manageable. Part 1 covers the basics of expedition planning, including scheduling, route selection, and food and gear resupply. Part 2 examines the special gear and skills you need for a variety of situations, including rain, winter, high mountains, deserts, and foreign travel. Part 3 offers a wish-list of destinations with descriptions of hikes in every conceivable type of terrain and ecosystem, from saguaros to sequoias, from cactus to Krummholtz.
Synopsis
An expert long-distance backpacker shares secrets of the world's elite trekkers to make every hiker's adventure safer and more enjoyable.
About the Author
Karen Berger, author of the best-selling Hiking and Backpacking: A Trailside Guide, has hiked over 15,000 miles, including the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail.
Table of Contents
- Chapter 1: Long-Distance Basics
- Choosing a hike, the cost, physical ailments, challenges and difficulties, section hiking.
- Chapter 2: Expedition Planning
- Planning issues, trail status and maps, trail clubs, scheduling, mileage.
- Chapter 3: Food and Resupply
- Nutrition, food resupply, food caches, mailing tips, gear resupply
- Chapter 4: Gear for the Long Haul
- Cost, lifetimes guarantees, boots, packs, sleeping bags, tents, tarps, stoves.
- Chapter 5: Rain
- Rain gear, rain accessories, packing for rain, walking in the rain, cooking in the rain, the next morning.
- Chapter 6: Winter
- Thinking winter, winter gear, snow shelters, winter accessories, cold-weather cuisine, snow travel, snowshoes, cross-country skiing.
- Chapter 7: Highcountry
- The alpine environment, gear for high altitude, high altitude campsites, technique, snow and ice.
- Chapter 8: Deserts
- The desert environment, planning for water, dry camping, desert clothing and gear, hypothermia and dehydrations.
- Chapter 9: Foreign Travel
- Passports and visas, finding information, money, food and equipment, health, transportation, cross-cultural challenges, safety.
- Chapter 10: Long Trails
- Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, Florida Trail, Ice Age Trail, North Country Trail, Natchez Trace Trail, Potomac Heritage Trail, Pacific Northwest Trail, Arizona Trail, Colorado Trail, Ohio Trail, Ozark and Ozark Highlands Trails, John Muir Trail, Wonderland Trail, Long Trail.
- Sources and Resources
- Index