Walking Softly in the Wilderness: The Sierra Club Guide to Backpacking, Completely Revised and Updated Edition (Sierra Club Books Publication) [Paperback]

John Hart (Author)

Book Description

Series: Sierra Club Books Publication | Publication Date: June 1, 1998

Walking Softly in the Wilderness is the ground-breaking guide that first taught backpackers how to enjoy a genuine wilderness experience through a common-sense approach to adventure that leaves nature undisturbed. Now completely revised and updated, it remains the bible of camp and trail and will inspire a new generation of hikers to explore nature with skill, appreciation, and care.
John Hart - conservationist, poet, and expert backpacker - provides novice and experienced hikers alike with comprehensive information on route finding, making camp, choosing the appropriate gear, preparing food and fuel, and camping with children.
This new edition covers the latest innovations in clothing and gear and includes new sections on map reading, navigating off-trail, first aid, and the politics of wilderness use, making it the most comprehensive and authoritative backpacking guide available.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Along with a compass and camp stove, warm hat and sleeping bag, every hiker should consider this book a prize piece of gear. Whether you're new to the sport, an old hand considering the purchase of a new tent or backpack, or interested in trying a new variation like snow or desert camping, Walking Softly in the Wilderness is a good place to start. Author John Hart is a conservationist, poet, backpacker, and climber, with years of experience in the backcountry.

Hart offers important details on boots, sleeping bags, tents and shelters, kitchen gear, trip planning, food, fuel, making and breaking camp, first aid, safety, problem animals and plants, map reading and compasses, navigating off trail, sanitation and clean water, and camping with kids. Especially helpful when facing a major purchase such as a sleeping bag or tent, the book offers useful background and lays out all the choices without brand names to confuse or persuade you, so you can make a more reliable decision. The book also includes useful resource listings of conservation and wilderness travel organizations, map and equipment sources, land management agencies in the U.S. and Canada, as well as Internet contacts. --Kathryn True

About the Author

John Hart is the author of Hiking the Great Basin and Storm Over Mono: The Mono Lake Battle and the California Water Future. He lives in Sonoma County, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 490 pages
• Publisher: Sierra Club Books; 3rd Rep edition (June 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871563924
• ISBN-13: 978-0871563927
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #184,912 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Nature Travel > Ecotourism
  • #82 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Hiking & Camping > Camping

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Definitive Successor to Colin Fletcher!, January 14, 2000

By 

Stephen D. Stearns (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Walking Softly in the Wilderness: The Sierra Club Guide to Backpacking, Completely Revised and Updated Edition (Sierra Club Books Publication) (Paperback)

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A backpacker's bible, November 7, 2005

By 

S. Roper (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Walking Softly in the Wilderness: The Sierra Club Guide to Backpacking (Sierra Club Outdoor Adventure Guide) (Paperback)

I've been backpacking for 51 years now and thought I knew it all. Not true. I have been lazy and certainly have not kept up with equipment changes, regulations, how to crap in the woods, etc. John Hart's book is truly a bible of wilderness hiking. Yes, it gets a little tedious and pedantic at times, but this book is not meant to be a bedside pageturner. It's a reference book and a damned good one. If some chapters seem too detailed for highly experienced hikers, then people should simply skim them. But a beginning backpacker will savor a fantastic wealth of information. And, yes, the book is "politically correct" often, but why shouldn't it be? The wilderness is a sacred place, and we should not take its potential devastation casually. The more we take Hart's advice about preservation, the better off the wilderness will be. If some think the tone is too much about Sierra Club do-goodism, then I suggest that readers think about what other alternatives they can bring to the table. I should also add that Hart is a wonderful writer--clear, eloquent, and committed to the "forever wild" concept.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A nice mixture, November 10, 2005

By 

David G. Cook (Forest Knolls, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Walking Softly in the Wilderness: The Sierra Club Guide to Backpacking (Sierra Club Outdoor Adventure Guide) (Paperback)

I have been hiking and camping for more decades than I care to
admit. I have recently started replacing gear that disintegrated through time. Rather than repace gear haphazardly or based on ads, I began to read John Hart's book. I found it useful and charming. If I am specifically searching for information on tents, for example, I can find that section easily. If I want a list of handy items to pack away, I can find it. The joy is the backdrop of "walking softly" advice. This would be great for a beginner as well.