The National Outdoor Leadership School's Wilderness Guide: The Classic Handbook, Revised and Updated

You should read this book if you're interested in backpacking *well*, and you want a solid introduction. You are introduced by example a lot of what it takes to be a competent, responsible, healthy, and mindful citizen of the wilderness. As for leadership, it discusses how to build and maintain a civilized hiking group, and the challenges involved. I don't think I was ever left wondering *why* something was suggested, the reasoning is usually clear. You come away feeling like you spent time in the mind of someone who has practiced making these kinds of decisions.This book covers a breadth of outdoorsmanship topics without getting too deep into any one. There are plenty of great details packed in, but I probably won't be keeping this book around for reference. I do plan to get more in-depth learning & reference books on some skills, such as reading the weather and map & compass skills.I have just one criticism and suggestion for a future update. Sixteen years have passed now since this book was last updated. Some details are outdated, especially those about technology choices at the time (fabrics, communication devices, etc. as others have said). I loved reading about it all, but I knew I'd have to get online to update my education on a few things. It would be neat if the next update just omitted those details. If they did that, I bet the book could stay relevant for 100 years without needing an update.

This book is an EXCELLENT book for anyone new (OR EXPERIENCED) in back country travel. This book can help you assess your skill levels (if you are honest with yourself). I believe being honest with ourselves about our skill sets as well as our abilities is crucial to back country travel (be it camping, backpacking or simply hiking). This book can help you learn skills -- but you have to practice them! It also can help you assess areas of weakness where you need to hone skills OR ask for HELP in learning. Taking a class in crossing crossing glaciers? Learning how to recognize potential avalanches? If you know you don't have these skills, you are truly taking a risk in backcountry where these exist. Back country medicine? Do you know how to best care for wounds? This book is full of essential information. I recommend it to anyone who will be in back country.

This is an outstanding book! I was introduced to the NOLS series of books by a friend who is a military chopper medic. I have been interested in domestic/international exploration for several years and he introduced me to a book called Expedition Planning, which I subsequently purchased and liked it enough to buy several more books from the NOLS series.If you are a camper, hiker, bird-watcher, star-gazer or any other pursuit that puts you in the outdoors to enjoy the majesty of the world, these books will give you practical advice on how to stream-line your planning, be adequately prepared for your trip, and get the most out of the experience.Awesome book. NOLS is a terrific school putting out great, tried-and-true advice in their publications.

When traveling in the outdoors you will encounter many different scenarios during your life time. Allowing your self to learn from others that also spend time camping, hiking, and enjoying the outdoors is invaluable. This great little book offers so much good advice that it needs to be read and studied a few times over a life time. Just little bits of information that aren't needed all the time but do come in handy during special situations are sometimes over looked or forgotten. i recommend reading this book once a year allowing you to bring back some of those forgotten facts that could save your life or at least make your outing more successful. The outdoors is a wonderful and large place .......this book will help prepare you to have many wonderful memories.

This is the PERFECT book for outdoor adventure beginners. I read this book before I thru hiked the Appalachian Trail. At that point in my life, I had only been out in the woods for a couple days at a time and I never really had to worry about how to pack a pack correctly to prevent strain on my back or how to dress in the rain to prevent hypothermia. This book gives you all of this information and more, including how to hang a bear bag, which saved me a couple of times from hungry black bears in NY state. If you plan on doing any kind of trekking in the back country for the first time, read this book before you go.

Both experienced and novice backpackers will find much of value in this book. My dad always planned and packed as though we were going on a 19th century expedition for a backpacking/camping trip. He asked me "Did we ever not have something we really needed in the field?" The answer was of course "No!". This book will help you to prepare.

This book is still the Bible for learning about spending time in the outdoors in a comfortable, safe, and responsible manner. It covers gear, clothing, food, cooking, using map and compass, new technology, low impact camping, etc, etc. The section on bear safety is adequate but not great but aside from that, it is the book to have. Once you have read this and want to learn more outdoor technical skills, buy Freedom of the Hills. Once you have learned and practiced the skills in these 2 books, you will be good to go in most land-based outdoor experiences.

I really enjoy this book. It is very informative, and I found myself breezing right through it because I found the information and writing style so refreshing and useful. It sort of breaks down the basic NOLS overview and covers quite the range of topics for outdoor activities, chiefly backpacking. A very useful guide if you intend to make some trips to the backcountry and enjoy the beautiful land we are blessed with. A great book to start with if you are at all interested in a NOLS course, or just interested in the outdoor aspect of life.

deecent, could be updated with more photos (color)