Backpacking One Step At a Time by Harvey Manning

by Harvey Manning

Recent innovations in backpacking gear and clothing are all covered in this new revision which continues to contain everything you need to know to strike out in the wilderness. Illustrated. A classic!

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Sports, Recreation, Reference, Outdoors

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Harvey Manning was a noted author of hiking guides and climbing textbooks, and a tireless hiking advocate. Manning lived on Cougar Mountain, within the city limits of Bellevue, Washington, calling his home the "200 meter hut". His book Walking the Beach to Bellingham is an autobiography and manifesto fleshing out his journal of a hike along the shore of Puget Sound over a two year span.


-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Walter Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost fifty years later, this is still an excellent introduction to backpacking. It has weathered the decades because mostly talks about skills and attitude.

Obviously, some of the gear sections are out of date—boots and stoves have changed beyond recognition since 1972 (the MSR expedition stove was introduced in 1973).

But other sections are quite useful. Tarps and tents have become much lighter, but balancing condensation and weatherproofing is still a challenge. For food, we still target 1.5 to 2 pounds per person per day. The emphasis on finding supermarket food suitable for backpacking is welcome. Modern books could learn from that.

The last chapter, on the new wilderness ethic, is still entirely relevant. It is one of the best short descriptions I've ever read. Read that first, then go back and work through the book.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Manning's congenial tone and repetitive humor begins to grate sometime in the third chapter, but the information and advice he presents is helpful. The entire middle of the book is composed of gear reviews, which are out of date and done better elsewhere anyways, but the first and last few chapters are a solid discussion backpacking practices and considerations. The best thing about this book is Manning's attitude, which is no-nonsense and practical.

[Douglas Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my "go to" book when exploring many areas in Colorado. I had been active before in family camping at lakes in Missouri and Arkansas as well as in boy scouts. I needed something more for the high country, and specifically backpacking and this did the job perfectly.

My copy is now becoming yellowed, and the binding a little brittle but I'll not part with it.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great introduction to hiking and backpacking. It's only drawback (and not this edition's fault since it was published in the 1980s) is it's dated but still introduces and goes over the essentials very well. There's also a historical perspective of the early days of hiking/backpacking before so many commercial products were offered. Obviously this book is only for those interested in this topic. Multiple product descriptions can be tiresome yet the author infuses a great deal of humor into the topic. I learned a great deal reading this book.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

More details on every aspect of backpacking than most of us ever want to know, but a very useful book for the beginner. Detailed info on choosing gear, planning a hike, how and what to pack, interspersed with bits of hiking history and lore. The running gag on dried spinach convinced me to go out and hunt some down. Includes a chapter on taking the family. It's been a while since this was published but some things don't really change a lot.

[James Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although now dated, this is a still a wonderful book. True, the equipment is not what it is nowadays, but Manning certainly understands the essence of why backpacking and hiking is such a wonderful experience. Many authors miss what he so easily sees and expresses when it comes to spending time in the wilderness. He has a good sense of humor and continues to amaze me when I reread passages from the book.

[Rhiannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really funny; the prose is just read-out-loud awesome. A lot of the particulars on gear, etc., are out of date (I was reading the 1st edition, I can't speak to the accuracy of the 2nd edition, which is listed here) but the basics are still applicable.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for beginners.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the original REI guys.