Monday, July 27, 1998
Sierra Club guide teaches beginners how to walk softly, carry a
backpack
BOOKS: Comprehensive primer shows novice outdoor explorers how
to survive vast wilderness
By Megan Dickerson
Daily Bruin Staff
Theodore ("Teddy") Roosevelt, considered the first
conservationist public policymaker, once said, "Walk softly, and
carry a big stick." He could have been talking about author John
Hart’s low-impact, backpacking philosophy, as detailed in "Walking
Softly in the Wilderness: The Sierra Club Guide to
Backpacking."
Designed for the novice backpacker, the book funnels the wisdom
of baptized-by-fire backpackers into a comprehensive, 478-page
primer. Part step-by-step guide and part philosophy lesson, the
book reconciles the negative aspects of human interference with a
"take only photographs, leave only footprints" sensibility.
The reader learns how to pitch a tent in areas with good
drainage and little vegetation or stow waste far from streams or
other water supplies. Where such technical knowledge could
frustrate a wilderness freshman, Hart’s straightforward, highly
readable style makes it seem feasible to the average person. It
communicates that although wilderness travel is not free,
effortless or without discomforts, it is possible for everyone, as
long as one is willing to "walk softly."
This "low-impact backpacking" strategy is unique to the guide.
Readers can find many tomes in the Great Outdoors aisle that record
eco-friendly ways of cleaning up waste. Few weave such a simple
philosophy of "going light" into each crevice of camping
information. These methods, Hart says, are "not merely points of
backcountry manners or wilderness etiquette … Low-impact methods
are the new necessities."
Apparently, so are web sites.
The third edition of the Sierra Club guide comes 15 years after
its predecessor, and – according to editors – every paragraph has
been reworked and rewritten. The reader realizes how much has
changed in the backpacking world when Hart cites web sites
alongside conventional bites of wisdom. The long-revered guide has
also been updated with such new political trends and policies as
the Wildlands Project, a plan that would create a network of
protected areas. Such information would interest even the most
experienced Grizzly Adams.
Hart details the most interesting and the most mundane parts of
backpacking. The book is divided into eight sections, with titles
like "Gearing Up" and "Trouble and How to Deal With It." The gear
section includes a very helpful list of exactly what to bring, from
pot grippers to urethane-coated rainchaps.
Each section is subgrouped in specific chapters. One chapter
explains kinds of boots, the same fare found in an annual special
edition of Backpacker magazine, but in a more timeless form. Even
the seemingly rudimentary details, like how to read a compass, are
explained in a way that does not insult the tenderfoot’s
intelligence. After all, for the beginner, this information is
essential to trail preparation; there’s nothing like getting caught
without the proper boots. Hart seems to speak from experience.
There is even a chapter on packing children on the trail. Hart
condones taking infants backpacking as early as one month, but
devotes a couple pages to baby-specific information.
Overall, Hart covers every aspect of the wild necessary for a
new adventurer. With the backing of the venerable Sierra Club, it
is one of the most comprehensive, easy-to-read beginner’s guides on
the market – almost as essential as the right bedroll.
In Hart’s world of backpacking, "carrying a big stick" is not
combative. Rather, it functions as a form of preparedness. And
"Walking" aims to have every fledgling backpacker think
accordingly.