Advanced Backpacking: (Trailside Guide) (Paperback)

by Karen Berger (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The sequel to the best-selling Trailside Guide: Hiking & Backpacking. 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.

The hit television series Trailside: Make Your Own Adventure airs on over 300 public television affiliates nationwide and the Outdoor Life cable channel.

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.; 1st edition (May 17, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393317692
• ISBN-13: 978-0393317695
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #729,337 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Only useful to someone who has never backpacked before., July 4, 2009

By	G. Loeffler "Zworldtraveler" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book should have been called, "Introduction to Backpacking." If you have never backpacked before, you might learn a few things from this book. There is nothing in the book that is advanced. Much of the book is just fluff and filler. Karen Berger, the author of the book starts every chapter with a few long introductory paragraphs that are not needed. One chapter starts out with, "Maybe you live in Colorado, where hiking means...or Arizona where hiking means....or..." Blah, blah, blah. All extra fluff. Then she states things that are obvious like, "How long you hike is up to you." No, really?? Up to me? "Choose the sleeping bag that is right for you?" Darn I wanted to choose the one that was wrong for me. Sometimes I think she just started copying information from a catalog: "There are 8 kinds of tents. They are....." Next she lists the 6 different types of boots. You can get better information just by thumbing through a catalog. I get the feeling that Berger writes this way because she is an armchair backpacker and has not used the equiment she is talking about. I think she is a writer who has never backpacked before. The book is 224 pages and without the filler and introductions it could have been under 100. Save yourself some money and get information from one of the many backpacking sites that are out there.

8 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the definitive book on backpacking!, October 28, 1999

By	John Milne ([e-mail]) (North Bay, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

Wannabe, novice or experienced bushwhacker, this book is one definite "gotta-have." Photos, illustrations and side-bars make every subject easy to understand. Besides...it's a good read, too.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT book, February 13, 2009

By	nay and (Logan, UT, USA) - See all my reviews

this book is what got me started backpacking and i am SO glad i did. its a great read after a long day as it "takes you there" without the sweat, bugs and blisters;)