What good factual books have you read on an outdoors topic?

Question

What books have you read that have given you a better understanding of an outdoors activity?

Ideally I would like to compile a list for all activities. i.e.:

• Climbing
• Canoeing
• Backpacking
• Backcountry cooking
• Bike touring

For instance:

• Mountain Biking - Mastering Mountain Bike Skills by Brian Lopes and Lee McCormack is one of the best books I have ever read. I bike every day and mountain bike a couple times month. This book has drastically improved my technique and answered many questions I had on riding.

Note: I know that this question is subjective and there is no definitive answer. If someone can think of a way to change the question to make it have a definite answer please feel free to edit. Otherwise, can someone change this question to 'community wiki'? Thanks.

Answer 1

• Climbing:
• Mountaineering:
  • Freedom of the Hills
• Canoeing:
• Backpacking:
• Backcountry cooking:
  • NOLS Cookery
• Bike touring:
• Telemark Skiing:
  • Allen & Mike's Really Cool Telemark Book

Answer 2

• Backcountry first aid and medicine
  • Wilderness Medicine

This book covers it all. Do you need to know about that snake that bit you? Look in here. Did someone fall and break their ankle? This has you covered. Do you have rampant diarrhea? How dangerous is that rash? Will eating snow fix your dehydration?

This book will have you covered if you're a dirt bag, weekend climber or a serious, career-long member of search-and-rescue.

Admittedly, this book is over 2000 pages long, so you can't take it with you backpacking. And it is no-joke expensive. But if you're committed, this book is the most authoritative source out there.

I haven't studied it all, but before going to Joshua Tree I intend to study the Hell out of the chapter on snakes. That is how I use this book, and I have found it very helpful.

• Climbing
  • Training for Climbing

If you want to climb hard, you have to train. This is THE book you need to read. It covers the mental, physical, and technical aspects of climbing. It gives a clear path to improving your climbing and defining your personal training needs.

Answer 3

• Backpacking
  • Trail Life by Ray Jardine

Ray is one of the pioneers of ultralight backpacking, if not the pioneer, not to mention expert kayaker and freeclimber. This book changed how I see backpacking from the Boy Scout/Army way to a better way. Ray's guidance made backpacking fun for me.

• Non-Factual
  • The Road More or Less Traveled

Okay, here's one that's not factual. Well, there are some facts, but that's probably an oversight. It's a pretty funny account of a couple guys that almost through-hiked the Appalachian Trail, except for a little yellow-blazing somewhere in the middle. There are hovercrafts and aliens.

Answer 4

• Climbing and Mountaineering in Europe
  • Pit Schubert: Sicherheit und Risiko in Fels und Eis (Safety and Danger on Rocks and Ice).

This is essentially a huge catalog of all the mistakes you can make while climbing and being in the mountains, supported by statistics and scientific tests. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be an English translation of the book, which is a bit weird given that I have read a Czech one. If you can read German and didn’t read the book yet, certainly go for it.

Answer 5

The bible for UK mountaineering is Mountaincraft and Leadership by Eric Langmuir (often simply referred to as 'Langmuir'). This is an amazing book. It is published by the UK Mountain Leader Training Board and used to form the basis of training for official Mountain Leader qualification. If you only read one outdoorsey book, make it this one.

I would also recommend Hill Walking, which is the book that replaced it as the official qualification handbook.

If you are going to Scotland in the winter you should read Chance In A Million which is a great book about avalanches, although is mainly aimed at Scotland.