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Woodcraft and Camping
One of America's most famous woodsmen and nature experts provides classic instructions for roughing it. His advice covers camping, hiking, building a fire, cooking out, shelters, tools and equipment, hunting and fishing, canoeing, and more. "Useful, specific information and suggestions on all aspects of woodcraft." — Moor and Mountain.
135 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1884
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
July 20, 2014
Sears was a writer for FIELD AND STREAM magazine back in the late 1800s. "Nessmuk" is the name he called himself after a Iroquois Indian friend from his childhood, and also the name attached to the knife he himself designed after many Hudson Bay-area Indian styles.
Sears was a pioneer and advocate of ultralight camping. He explored much of the uooper to mid Adirondacks on foot, with very little gear, believing that knowledge trumped gear and "weighed less." At 62, Sears completed the almost 300-mile canoe/camping journey through the central Ardirondacks in a custom-built one-man, ultrlight canoe. The canoe was specially-made so that he could carry it over his head when terrain dictated he walk to the next river entry point. The canoe was called the Sairy Gamp (a character's name from Charles Dickens's MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT)and sits in the Smithsonian to this day. This kind of a journey was unheard of at the time, and it was just one of many trips. There is a biography/travelogue of the Adirondacks expedition called AN ADIRONDACK PASSAGE: THE CRUISE OF THE SAIRY GAMP, by Christine Jerome, where Jerome follows in Nessmuk's footsteps in her own small canoe, outiftted just as he had been.
Sears was a dedicated naturlist and poet, his poetry collection FOREST RUNES is still in print, and quite good. He was kind of like Emerson and Thoreau without the "woe is me" crap.
WOODCRAFT AND CAMPING was a journal of his woodcraft experience, and there is plenty to be had. His "essential three" were a folding knife, a fixed-blade knife, and a hatchet. his methods of fire-starting, building of shelter, and trapping have barely changed since the days of the Iroquois from which he learned them. While obviously new gear and technology of the present have made some of the outdoor tasks Nessmuk taught more efficient, the knowledge of how to perform these tasks aboriginally is unquestionably important, as NO ONE should rely solely on gear. Knowledge is weightless, after all.
Good book and solid, tried and true knowledge.
Sears was a pioneer and advocate of ultralight camping. He explored much of the uooper to mid Adirondacks on foot, with very little gear, believing that knowledge trumped gear and "weighed less." At 62, Sears completed the almost 300-mile canoe/camping journey through the central Ardirondacks in a custom-built one-man, ultrlight canoe. The canoe was specially-made so that he could carry it over his head when terrain dictated he walk to the next river entry point. The canoe was called the Sairy Gamp (a character's name from Charles Dickens's MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT)and sits in the Smithsonian to this day. This kind of a journey was unheard of at the time, and it was just one of many trips. There is a biography/travelogue of the Adirondacks expedition called AN ADIRONDACK PASSAGE: THE CRUISE OF THE SAIRY GAMP, by Christine Jerome, where Jerome follows in Nessmuk's footsteps in her own small canoe, outiftted just as he had been.
Sears was a dedicated naturlist and poet, his poetry collection FOREST RUNES is still in print, and quite good. He was kind of like Emerson and Thoreau without the "woe is me" crap.
WOODCRAFT AND CAMPING was a journal of his woodcraft experience, and there is plenty to be had. His "essential three" were a folding knife, a fixed-blade knife, and a hatchet. his methods of fire-starting, building of shelter, and trapping have barely changed since the days of the Iroquois from which he learned them. While obviously new gear and technology of the present have made some of the outdoor tasks Nessmuk taught more efficient, the knowledge of how to perform these tasks aboriginally is unquestionably important, as NO ONE should rely solely on gear. Knowledge is weightless, after all.
Good book and solid, tried and true knowledge.
January 13, 2021
Woodcraft and Camping falls into a genre of nonfiction that is akin to Rowland's 'Cache Lake Country', which is one of the few books I pull off the bookshelf to return to every few years, or Hoover's 'A Place in the Woods' - or for that matter any of the Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage publications, of which there are many real jewels. In addition to these North Country publications, I was also reminded of Kephart's writings such as 'Our Southern Highlanders'. I list these to say that these books are more enjoyable alternatives to Nessmuk's. In fact, having just returned from a 5-day North Country winter camping trip myself I was really looking forward to Woodcraft and Camping, but ended up walking away a little disappointed.
While I did enjoy the content of this book, and unlike many readers do not at all get bored with the extremely tedious Colin Fletcher-like details that are described about the most mundane things - like how to orient sticks within a fire ring and how to place your pot within the embers - I did not care for Nessmuk's writing style. Most of his arguments went something like this: 'the way that most woodsmen have traditionally done this or that task is incorrect, and perhaps even the worst way one could do it; now, let me describe to you the real way to do it'. I simply found this arrogant way of justifying his outdoorsman experiences as snobbish. I've taken to the woods with people of similar attitude, and generally do not return with them. I frequently escape civilization to get away from this sort of thing, and it was a little disheartening to read this book of late 19th century woodsmen genre, a genre that I love, succumbing to this.
I can see why Nessmuk's book is considered somewhat of a pseudo-classic. His descriptions are vivid, his expertise as a woodsman evident, his adventures exciting, and his storytelling worthy of fireside book reading enjoyment. I just wish that the book didn't have the undertones of superiority, but perhaps other readers would not perceive Woodcraft and Camping this way.
While I did enjoy the content of this book, and unlike many readers do not at all get bored with the extremely tedious Colin Fletcher-like details that are described about the most mundane things - like how to orient sticks within a fire ring and how to place your pot within the embers - I did not care for Nessmuk's writing style. Most of his arguments went something like this: 'the way that most woodsmen have traditionally done this or that task is incorrect, and perhaps even the worst way one could do it; now, let me describe to you the real way to do it'. I simply found this arrogant way of justifying his outdoorsman experiences as snobbish. I've taken to the woods with people of similar attitude, and generally do not return with them. I frequently escape civilization to get away from this sort of thing, and it was a little disheartening to read this book of late 19th century woodsmen genre, a genre that I love, succumbing to this.
I can see why Nessmuk's book is considered somewhat of a pseudo-classic. His descriptions are vivid, his expertise as a woodsman evident, his adventures exciting, and his storytelling worthy of fireside book reading enjoyment. I just wish that the book didn't have the undertones of superiority, but perhaps other readers would not perceive Woodcraft and Camping this way.
April 26, 2021
For those nostalgists, who like to imagine what this land was like before being overrun with us people and coated in asphalt and concrete, this is a great little read. Written at a time when the "Northwest" was what we now call the Upper Midwest, the author spent his life guiding in the backwoods and many consider him the pioneer of ultra-light backpacking/canoe trips. As he was only 5'3" and 100 pounds, I suspect everything he did was in ultra-light fashion.
"When it is past midnight, the fire burns low, and the chill night breeze drifts into camp, they still do not rouse up, but only spoon closer, and sleep right on. Only the O.W. turns out sleepily, at two bells in the middle watch, after the manner of hunters, trappers and sailors, the world over. He quietly rebuilds the fire, reduces a bit of navy plug to its lowest denomination, and takes a solitary smoke -- still holding down his favorite log. .... as he glances at the calm yellow moon overhead, and listens to the low murmur of the little waterfall below the spring, he has a faint notion that it is not all loss and dross. .... "I have been young, and now I am old; yet have I never seen the true woodsman forsaken, or his seed begging bread -- or anything else, so to speak -- unless it might be a little tobacco or a nip of whisky."
"This is the moral: From Maine to Montana; from the Adirondacks to Alaska; from the Yosemite to the Yellowstone, the trout-hog, the deer-wolf, the netter, the skin-hunter, each and all have it their own way; and the law is a farce -- only to be enforced where the game has vanished forever. Perhaps the man-child is born who will live to write the moral of all this -- when it is too late."
"I often have a call to pilot some muscular young friend into the deep forest, and he usually carries a large pack-basket, with a full supply of quart cans of salmon, tomatoes, peaches, etc. As in duty bound, I admonish him kindly, but firmly, on the folly of loading his young shoulders with such effeminate luxuries; often, I fear, hurting his young feelings by brusque advice. But at night, when the camp-fire burns brightly, and he begins to fish out his tins, the heart of the Old Woodsman relents, and I make amends by allowing him to divide the groceries."
"But there is an art, little known and practiced, that invariably succeeds in outflanking most wild animals; an art, simple in conception and execution, but requiring patience; a species, so to speak, of high art in forestry -- the art of "sitting on a log". .... Sitting on a log includes a deal of patience, with oftentimes cold feet and chattering teeth; but , attended to faithfully and patiently, is quite as successful as chasing a deer all day on tracking snow, while it can be practiced when the leaves are dry, and no other mode of still-hunting offers the ghost of a chance. .... When a man is moving through the woods, wary, watchful animals are pretty certain to catch sight of him. But let him keep perfectly quiet and the conditions are reversed. .... But the time when a hunter could get four or five fair shots in a day by watching a runway has passed away forever. Never any more will buffalo be seen in solid masses covering square miles in one pack. The immense bands of elk and droves of deer are things of the past, and "The game must go."
"There are men who, on finding themselves alone in a pathless forest, become appalled, almost panic stricken. The vastness of an unbroken wilderness subdues them, and they quail before the relentless, untamed forces of nature. .... And there be some who plunge into an unbroken forest with a feeling of fresh, free, invigorating delight, as they might dash into a crisp ocean surf on a hot day. These know that nature is stern, hard, immovable and terrible in unrelenting cruelty. When wintry winds are out and the mercury far below zero, she will allow her most ardent lover to freeze on her snowy breast without waving a leaf in pity, or offering him a match; and scores of her devotees may starve to death in as many different languages before she will offer a loaf of bread. She does not deal in matches and loaves; rather in thunderbolts and granite mountains. .... She may starve or freeze the poet, the scholar, the scientist; all the same, she has in store food, fuel and shelter, which the skillful, self-reliant woodsman can wring from her savage hand with axe and rifle.
Only to him whose coat of rags
Has pressed at night her regal feet,
Shall come the secrets, strange and sweet,
Of century pines and beetling crags.
For him the goddess shall unlock
The golden secrets which have lain
Ten thousand years, through frost and rain,
Deep in the bosom of the rock."
"Among them were some of the grandest gobblers I had ever seen, and one magnificent fellow came straight toward me. Never before or since have I seen such a splendid wild bird. His thick, glossy black beard nearly reached the ground, his bronze uniform was of the richest, and he was decidedly the largest I have ever seen. When within fifty feet of the spot where I was nearly hidden, his wary eye caught something suspicious; and he raised his superb head for an instant in an attitude of motionless attention. Then, with lowered head and drooping tail, he turned right about, gave the note of alarm, put the trunk of a large tree quickly between himself and the enemy, and went away like the wind. With the speed of thought, the warning note was sounded along the whole line, and in a moment the woods seemed alive with turkeys, running for dear life. In less time than it takes to tell it, that gallinaceous army had passed out of sight , forever. And the like of it will never again be possible on this continent."
"The ten days' tramp was ended. It had been wearisome to a degree, but interesting and instructive. I had seen more game birds and animals in the time than I ever saw before of since in a whole season; and, though I came out with clothes pretty well worn and torn off my back and legs, was a little disposed to plume myself on the achievement. Even at this day I am a little proud of the fact that, with so many temptations to slaughter, I only fired three shots on the route. Nothing but the exceptionally fine, dry weather rendere3d such a trip possible in a wilderness so cut up with swamps, lakes, marshes and streams. A week of steady rain or a premature snow storm -- either likely enough at that season -- would have been most disastrous; while a forest fire like that of '56, and later ones, would simply have proved fatal. .... Reader, if ever you are tempted to make a similar thoughtless, reckless trip -- don't do it."
"When it is past midnight, the fire burns low, and the chill night breeze drifts into camp, they still do not rouse up, but only spoon closer, and sleep right on. Only the O.W. turns out sleepily, at two bells in the middle watch, after the manner of hunters, trappers and sailors, the world over. He quietly rebuilds the fire, reduces a bit of navy plug to its lowest denomination, and takes a solitary smoke -- still holding down his favorite log. .... as he glances at the calm yellow moon overhead, and listens to the low murmur of the little waterfall below the spring, he has a faint notion that it is not all loss and dross. .... "I have been young, and now I am old; yet have I never seen the true woodsman forsaken, or his seed begging bread -- or anything else, so to speak -- unless it might be a little tobacco or a nip of whisky."
"This is the moral: From Maine to Montana; from the Adirondacks to Alaska; from the Yosemite to the Yellowstone, the trout-hog, the deer-wolf, the netter, the skin-hunter, each and all have it their own way; and the law is a farce -- only to be enforced where the game has vanished forever. Perhaps the man-child is born who will live to write the moral of all this -- when it is too late."
"I often have a call to pilot some muscular young friend into the deep forest, and he usually carries a large pack-basket, with a full supply of quart cans of salmon, tomatoes, peaches, etc. As in duty bound, I admonish him kindly, but firmly, on the folly of loading his young shoulders with such effeminate luxuries; often, I fear, hurting his young feelings by brusque advice. But at night, when the camp-fire burns brightly, and he begins to fish out his tins, the heart of the Old Woodsman relents, and I make amends by allowing him to divide the groceries."
"But there is an art, little known and practiced, that invariably succeeds in outflanking most wild animals; an art, simple in conception and execution, but requiring patience; a species, so to speak, of high art in forestry -- the art of "sitting on a log". .... Sitting on a log includes a deal of patience, with oftentimes cold feet and chattering teeth; but , attended to faithfully and patiently, is quite as successful as chasing a deer all day on tracking snow, while it can be practiced when the leaves are dry, and no other mode of still-hunting offers the ghost of a chance. .... When a man is moving through the woods, wary, watchful animals are pretty certain to catch sight of him. But let him keep perfectly quiet and the conditions are reversed. .... But the time when a hunter could get four or five fair shots in a day by watching a runway has passed away forever. Never any more will buffalo be seen in solid masses covering square miles in one pack. The immense bands of elk and droves of deer are things of the past, and "The game must go."
"There are men who, on finding themselves alone in a pathless forest, become appalled, almost panic stricken. The vastness of an unbroken wilderness subdues them, and they quail before the relentless, untamed forces of nature. .... And there be some who plunge into an unbroken forest with a feeling of fresh, free, invigorating delight, as they might dash into a crisp ocean surf on a hot day. These know that nature is stern, hard, immovable and terrible in unrelenting cruelty. When wintry winds are out and the mercury far below zero, she will allow her most ardent lover to freeze on her snowy breast without waving a leaf in pity, or offering him a match; and scores of her devotees may starve to death in as many different languages before she will offer a loaf of bread. She does not deal in matches and loaves; rather in thunderbolts and granite mountains. .... She may starve or freeze the poet, the scholar, the scientist; all the same, she has in store food, fuel and shelter, which the skillful, self-reliant woodsman can wring from her savage hand with axe and rifle.
Only to him whose coat of rags
Has pressed at night her regal feet,
Shall come the secrets, strange and sweet,
Of century pines and beetling crags.
For him the goddess shall unlock
The golden secrets which have lain
Ten thousand years, through frost and rain,
Deep in the bosom of the rock."
"Among them were some of the grandest gobblers I had ever seen, and one magnificent fellow came straight toward me. Never before or since have I seen such a splendid wild bird. His thick, glossy black beard nearly reached the ground, his bronze uniform was of the richest, and he was decidedly the largest I have ever seen. When within fifty feet of the spot where I was nearly hidden, his wary eye caught something suspicious; and he raised his superb head for an instant in an attitude of motionless attention. Then, with lowered head and drooping tail, he turned right about, gave the note of alarm, put the trunk of a large tree quickly between himself and the enemy, and went away like the wind. With the speed of thought, the warning note was sounded along the whole line, and in a moment the woods seemed alive with turkeys, running for dear life. In less time than it takes to tell it, that gallinaceous army had passed out of sight , forever. And the like of it will never again be possible on this continent."
"The ten days' tramp was ended. It had been wearisome to a degree, but interesting and instructive. I had seen more game birds and animals in the time than I ever saw before of since in a whole season; and, though I came out with clothes pretty well worn and torn off my back and legs, was a little disposed to plume myself on the achievement. Even at this day I am a little proud of the fact that, with so many temptations to slaughter, I only fired three shots on the route. Nothing but the exceptionally fine, dry weather rendere3d such a trip possible in a wilderness so cut up with swamps, lakes, marshes and streams. A week of steady rain or a premature snow storm -- either likely enough at that season -- would have been most disastrous; while a forest fire like that of '56, and later ones, would simply have proved fatal. .... Reader, if ever you are tempted to make a similar thoughtless, reckless trip -- don't do it."
April 7, 2021
This 1884 book has never been out of print. For its first 70 years, that was probably due to utmost relevance. My reading of it still found applicable bits, tons in fact. Yet, there is much that is now distant and foreign, but in an entertaining way.
First called, Woodcraft, later editions go by, Woodcraft and Camping. The author, George Washington Sears (1821 – 1890), wrote for Forest and Stream and was an early conservationist. Appearing under the pen name "Nessmuk", Sears popularized self-guided canoe camping tours in America’s Northeast and championed what is today called ultralight camping or ultralight backpacking.
That is what I find interesting. The tension of being an adventure writer who promotes the great outdoors yet, who wishes no one responds to their prose and calls for exploring, less nature be impacted.
Sears starts off hot. He indicts society for its free spending ways when people have money, and even when they don’t. He takes chip shots at the average summer traveler who gets poor return on investment for their leisure dollars.
I loved his simple advice of going light when camping. Less is more to carry and for the budget. He emphasizes, never losing one’s cool when lost and never “quarrel with the compass”. Sears talks of bugs and how one young man was bit so bad that his eye closed and the brow hung over like a clamshell. The repellant solution? “Three ounces pine tar, two ounces castor oil, one ounce pennyroyal oil. Simmer all together over a slow fire, and bottle for use. You will hardly need more than a two-ounce vial full in a season.”
Sears exhaustively covers knives, canoes, fishing lures, shelters, and camp sites. It is cooking advice that is simply awesome, “Everything has been cooked in a tin pail and a skillet—potatoes, tea, pork, mutton, slapjacks. You wonder how everything would have been prepared in so few utensils.”
Great prose here suggesting Sears came from money but later struggled, “It is probably true that nothing connected with out-door life in camp is so badly botched as the cooking. It is not through any lack of the raw material, which may be had of excellent quality in any country village. It is not from lack of intelligence or education, for the men you meet in the woods, as outers or sportsmen, are rather over than under the average in these respects. Perhaps it is because it has been dinned into our ears from early childhood, that an appetite, a healthy longing for something good to eat, a tickling of the palate with wholesome, appetizing food, is beneath the attention of an aesthetic, intellectual man.”
Then there is this specific advice:
- To make perfect coffee, just two ingredients are necessary, and only two. These are water and coffee. It is owing to the bad management of the latter that we drink poor coffee.
- Almost any man can cook potatoes, but few cook them well. Most people think them best boiled in their jackets, and to cook them perfectly in this manner is so simple and easy, that the wonder is how any one can fail.
- And do not despise the fretful porcupine; he is better than he looks. If you happen on a healthy young specimen when you are needing meat, give him a show before condemning him. Shoot him humanely in the head, and dress him.
But this is the best. “Fried squirrels are excellent for a change, but are mostly spoiled by poor cooks, who put tough old he's and tender young squirrels together, treating all alike. To dress and cook them properly, chop off heads, tails and feet with the hatchet; cut the skin on the back crosswise, and, inserting the two middle fingers, pull the skin off in two parts, (head and tail). Clean and cut them in halves, leaving two ribs on the hindquarters. Put hind and fore quarters into the kettle, and parboil until tender. This will take about twenty minutes for young ones, and twice as long for the old.”
Sears was not known to have married. Perhaps this passage explains why, “I often have a call to pilot some muscular young friend into the deep forest, and he usually carries a large pack-basket, with a full supply of quart cans of salmon, tomatoes, peaches, etc. As in duty bound, I admonish him kindly, but firmly, on the folly of loading his young shoulders with such effeminate luxuries; often, I fear, hurting his young feelings by brusque advice. But at night, when the camp-fire burns brightly, and he begins to fish out his tins, the heart of the Old Woodsman relents, and I make amends by allowing him to divide the groceries.”
Back to food, specifically spices. He suggests keeping it simple, “Do not carry any of the one hundred and one condiments, sauces, garnishes, etc., laid down in the books. Salt, pepper, and lemons fill the bill in that line. Lobster-sauce, shrimp-sauce, marjoram, celery, parsley, thyme, anchovies, etc., may be left at the hotels.”
Sears’ writing is fun. He calls canoes, ‘a poor man’s yacht’. Descriptions and the excitement behind running into armies of deer and turkey rival rich fiction but must be believed.
His last lines speak to the tension of being both adventure writer and conservationist, “Wherefore, let us be thankful that there are still thousands of cool, green nooks beside crystal springs, where the weary soul may hide for a time, away from debts, duns and deviltries, and a while commune with nature in her undress.
And with kindness to all true woodsmen; and with malice toward none, save the trout-hog, the netter, the cruster, and skin-butcher, let us prepare to turn in.”
To help you out, here is a glossary of some terms. Duns means dullards. Trout-hog is an over fisher who does not share. Netter is a fisher who does not see the poor sportsmanship in using a net. A cruster tracks game too easily across crusted snow. And the skin-butcher wastes the meat.
First called, Woodcraft, later editions go by, Woodcraft and Camping. The author, George Washington Sears (1821 – 1890), wrote for Forest and Stream and was an early conservationist. Appearing under the pen name "Nessmuk", Sears popularized self-guided canoe camping tours in America’s Northeast and championed what is today called ultralight camping or ultralight backpacking.
That is what I find interesting. The tension of being an adventure writer who promotes the great outdoors yet, who wishes no one responds to their prose and calls for exploring, less nature be impacted.
Sears starts off hot. He indicts society for its free spending ways when people have money, and even when they don’t. He takes chip shots at the average summer traveler who gets poor return on investment for their leisure dollars.
I loved his simple advice of going light when camping. Less is more to carry and for the budget. He emphasizes, never losing one’s cool when lost and never “quarrel with the compass”. Sears talks of bugs and how one young man was bit so bad that his eye closed and the brow hung over like a clamshell. The repellant solution? “Three ounces pine tar, two ounces castor oil, one ounce pennyroyal oil. Simmer all together over a slow fire, and bottle for use. You will hardly need more than a two-ounce vial full in a season.”
Sears exhaustively covers knives, canoes, fishing lures, shelters, and camp sites. It is cooking advice that is simply awesome, “Everything has been cooked in a tin pail and a skillet—potatoes, tea, pork, mutton, slapjacks. You wonder how everything would have been prepared in so few utensils.”
Great prose here suggesting Sears came from money but later struggled, “It is probably true that nothing connected with out-door life in camp is so badly botched as the cooking. It is not through any lack of the raw material, which may be had of excellent quality in any country village. It is not from lack of intelligence or education, for the men you meet in the woods, as outers or sportsmen, are rather over than under the average in these respects. Perhaps it is because it has been dinned into our ears from early childhood, that an appetite, a healthy longing for something good to eat, a tickling of the palate with wholesome, appetizing food, is beneath the attention of an aesthetic, intellectual man.”
Then there is this specific advice:
- To make perfect coffee, just two ingredients are necessary, and only two. These are water and coffee. It is owing to the bad management of the latter that we drink poor coffee.
- Almost any man can cook potatoes, but few cook them well. Most people think them best boiled in their jackets, and to cook them perfectly in this manner is so simple and easy, that the wonder is how any one can fail.
- And do not despise the fretful porcupine; he is better than he looks. If you happen on a healthy young specimen when you are needing meat, give him a show before condemning him. Shoot him humanely in the head, and dress him.
But this is the best. “Fried squirrels are excellent for a change, but are mostly spoiled by poor cooks, who put tough old he's and tender young squirrels together, treating all alike. To dress and cook them properly, chop off heads, tails and feet with the hatchet; cut the skin on the back crosswise, and, inserting the two middle fingers, pull the skin off in two parts, (head and tail). Clean and cut them in halves, leaving two ribs on the hindquarters. Put hind and fore quarters into the kettle, and parboil until tender. This will take about twenty minutes for young ones, and twice as long for the old.”
Sears was not known to have married. Perhaps this passage explains why, “I often have a call to pilot some muscular young friend into the deep forest, and he usually carries a large pack-basket, with a full supply of quart cans of salmon, tomatoes, peaches, etc. As in duty bound, I admonish him kindly, but firmly, on the folly of loading his young shoulders with such effeminate luxuries; often, I fear, hurting his young feelings by brusque advice. But at night, when the camp-fire burns brightly, and he begins to fish out his tins, the heart of the Old Woodsman relents, and I make amends by allowing him to divide the groceries.”
Back to food, specifically spices. He suggests keeping it simple, “Do not carry any of the one hundred and one condiments, sauces, garnishes, etc., laid down in the books. Salt, pepper, and lemons fill the bill in that line. Lobster-sauce, shrimp-sauce, marjoram, celery, parsley, thyme, anchovies, etc., may be left at the hotels.”
Sears’ writing is fun. He calls canoes, ‘a poor man’s yacht’. Descriptions and the excitement behind running into armies of deer and turkey rival rich fiction but must be believed.
His last lines speak to the tension of being both adventure writer and conservationist, “Wherefore, let us be thankful that there are still thousands of cool, green nooks beside crystal springs, where the weary soul may hide for a time, away from debts, duns and deviltries, and a while commune with nature in her undress.
And with kindness to all true woodsmen; and with malice toward none, save the trout-hog, the netter, the cruster, and skin-butcher, let us prepare to turn in.”
To help you out, here is a glossary of some terms. Duns means dullards. Trout-hog is an over fisher who does not share. Netter is a fisher who does not see the poor sportsmanship in using a net. A cruster tracks game too easily across crusted snow. And the skin-butcher wastes the meat.
January 2, 2013
Everyone with an interest in the outdoors: camping, fishing, hunting, etc... should own this book. It isn't very long, can be read in one afternoon really. It is full of wonderful tips trick and anecdotes regarding getting along in the out doors. What to bring and not to bring, how to dress, etc. There are even some moral tips about not taking too much that I wish the vast majority of folks going out into nature would observe though, sadly, I know they do not.
Add this one to your library!
Add this one to your library!
March 11, 2022
Charming short classic book about roughing it in the outdoors, written 150 years ago. Still relevant, with funny stories woven into its practical advice.
February 23, 2021
Wow... What an absolute hidden gym. For context, I stumbled upon this book in learning about different historical outdoor tools and knives, and found the Esee JG5 (Nessmuk style) knife where I learned of a gentleman named George Washington Sears who's considered the father of this style blade and inventing the concept of ultralight backpacking. I decided to learn more about this man, and found this book he'd written back in the 1800's, and man I'm glad I did. This was a special read. I've been largely cooped up inside with a new baby and my wife struggling with some health issues the past month, so this book was actually a very special read to me as it filled some of my yearning to be outside void.
This book is packed full of some of the most profound timeless wisdom I've ever read, especially for someone who has a love for sleeping under the stars, and even someone who feels a closer connection to our creator when surrounded by trees and wild life. While there are some sections that have specifics on dated concepts, such as building a cedar canoe, I didn't mind it one bit. Those sections were typically very short, and also surrounded by interesting stories.
Overall, I was completely shocked with how relevant much of Mr. Sears's wisdom and advice still is. I also absolutely loved the poetry and literary genius he composed. Anyone who loves all things outside, and appreciates history, should read this.
Favorite quotes:
-"I have found that nearly all who have a real love of nature and out-of-door-camp-life, spend a good deal of time and talk in planning future trips, or discussing the trips and pleasures gone by, but still dear to memory." Amen! No truer words have been said, brother...
-"For brick and mortar breed filth and crime, with a pulse of evil that throbs and beats; and men are withered before their prime by the curse paved in with the lanes and streets. And lungs are poisoned and shoulders bowed, in the smothering reek of mill and mine; and death stalks in on the struggling crowd-but he shuns the shadow of oak and pine."
-He called "over carries" what we now call back packing.
-"Roughing it. The last phrase is very popular and always cropping out in the talks on matters pertaining to a vacation in the woods. I dislike the phrase. We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it. We get it rough enough at home; in towns and cities; in shops, offices, stores, banks-anywhere that we may be placed-with the necessity always present of being on time and up to our work; of providing for the dependent ones; of keep up, catching up or getting left... ...I am not writing for them; but only to those of the world's workers who go, or would like to go, every summer to the woods. And to these I would say, don't rough it; make it as smooth, as restful and pleasurable as you can."
-"Why should any sensible man spend years in acquiring an education that shall fit him for the struggle of life, yet refuse to spend a single day in learning how to cook the food that must sustain the life? It is one of the conundrums no one will ever find out."
-And many more!
Book rating criteria; to help objectify my ratings.
1. Will I read it again?
Yes, certainly.
2. Would I recommend this to others?
Yes, especially outdoorsy people, or people who appreciate history.
3. Am I smarter, better or wiser as a result of this book?
Yes.
4. Was I entertained while reading this/it kept my attention?
Yes, loved every minute of it.
5. This book was just the right length?
Yes.
This book is packed full of some of the most profound timeless wisdom I've ever read, especially for someone who has a love for sleeping under the stars, and even someone who feels a closer connection to our creator when surrounded by trees and wild life. While there are some sections that have specifics on dated concepts, such as building a cedar canoe, I didn't mind it one bit. Those sections were typically very short, and also surrounded by interesting stories.
Overall, I was completely shocked with how relevant much of Mr. Sears's wisdom and advice still is. I also absolutely loved the poetry and literary genius he composed. Anyone who loves all things outside, and appreciates history, should read this.
Favorite quotes:
-"I have found that nearly all who have a real love of nature and out-of-door-camp-life, spend a good deal of time and talk in planning future trips, or discussing the trips and pleasures gone by, but still dear to memory." Amen! No truer words have been said, brother...
-"For brick and mortar breed filth and crime, with a pulse of evil that throbs and beats; and men are withered before their prime by the curse paved in with the lanes and streets. And lungs are poisoned and shoulders bowed, in the smothering reek of mill and mine; and death stalks in on the struggling crowd-but he shuns the shadow of oak and pine."
-He called "over carries" what we now call back packing.
-"Roughing it. The last phrase is very popular and always cropping out in the talks on matters pertaining to a vacation in the woods. I dislike the phrase. We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it. We get it rough enough at home; in towns and cities; in shops, offices, stores, banks-anywhere that we may be placed-with the necessity always present of being on time and up to our work; of providing for the dependent ones; of keep up, catching up or getting left... ...I am not writing for them; but only to those of the world's workers who go, or would like to go, every summer to the woods. And to these I would say, don't rough it; make it as smooth, as restful and pleasurable as you can."
-"Why should any sensible man spend years in acquiring an education that shall fit him for the struggle of life, yet refuse to spend a single day in learning how to cook the food that must sustain the life? It is one of the conundrums no one will ever find out."
-And many more!
Book rating criteria; to help objectify my ratings.
1. Will I read it again?
Yes, certainly.
2. Would I recommend this to others?
Yes, especially outdoorsy people, or people who appreciate history.
3. Am I smarter, better or wiser as a result of this book?
Yes.
4. Was I entertained while reading this/it kept my attention?
Yes, loved every minute of it.
5. This book was just the right length?
Yes.
Read
June 28, 2019I do not think I will be following all of this 19th century advice when I go into the woods, but the book was beautifully written. He bemoans the loss of wilderness, and I know that he would be worse than dismayed to see what's happened in the century (and change) since... in some ways. There was one sad incident in the book in which he goes to visit his friend in the woods, who was camping there for the summer with his wife and two small children. Who were sick. The children died. He remarked on it as a sad incident, but it wasn't an unusual occurrence at all in those days.
I would recommend this for reading for fun, more than for practical advice -- I was far more engaged by the storytelling than I expected to be.
I would recommend this for reading for fun, more than for practical advice -- I was far more engaged by the storytelling than I expected to be.
February 2, 2023
Woodcraft and Camping
This interesting book gives us the insight of life in the late 1880's. George Sears was a writer for an outdoor magazine titled, "Forest and Stream", which was published from 1873-1930. Sears wrote extensively about his canoeing trips through the Adirondacks and many lakes and streams throughout the state's in the northeast. He was a very experienced woodsman, and he gave advice on how to pack light weight loads. He was one of the original "ultra light" campers. Much of his wisdom is still relevant today. This is a fine reference book for anyone who enjoys camping and woodcraft.
This interesting book gives us the insight of life in the late 1880's. George Sears was a writer for an outdoor magazine titled, "Forest and Stream", which was published from 1873-1930. Sears wrote extensively about his canoeing trips through the Adirondacks and many lakes and streams throughout the state's in the northeast. He was a very experienced woodsman, and he gave advice on how to pack light weight loads. He was one of the original "ultra light" campers. Much of his wisdom is still relevant today. This is a fine reference book for anyone who enjoys camping and woodcraft.
July 26, 2018
Nessmuk is an OG outdoorsman from the late 1800's and his advice, observations, and reflections are fascinating. Some advice, like cutting down a dozen trees for a single night's camp fire, should probably be ignored :) I was amazed by how many of his thoughts remain relevant... on page 1 "It is an age of hurry and worry" and he even refers to the 1% with "In common with nine-tenths of my fellow citizens I am poor-and the canoe is my yacht".
August 6, 2021
A classic work by a classic woodsman
What can I say that others haven't? Little more if any. To each of us a classic such as this, crafted by no less than a legend, presents itself uniquely as an overlay to our own unique experiences. This there's nothing of likeness to compare it to. And thus it's common ground found with so many of us continues to make it a timeless classic.
What can I say that others haven't? Little more if any. To each of us a classic such as this, crafted by no less than a legend, presents itself uniquely as an overlay to our own unique experiences. This there's nothing of likeness to compare it to. And thus it's common ground found with so many of us continues to make it a timeless classic.
July 30, 2019
So fun!
The illustrations don't show up in this version, and most of the material is useless for modern camping. Even still, this book is a blast. It's so fun to read stories from over a hundred years ago and find so many recognizable personalities! The author tells stories of his adventures and adds in advice from years of outdoor experiences. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
The illustrations don't show up in this version, and most of the material is useless for modern camping. Even still, this book is a blast. It's so fun to read stories from over a hundred years ago and find so many recognizable personalities! The author tells stories of his adventures and adds in advice from years of outdoor experiences. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
February 18, 2025
An exceptional read about light camping in remote wilderness
I loved his writing style, relating his points through recalled examples with wit mixed in with instruction.
A book for those interested in truly "roughing it" by camping in a remote wilderness with minimal supplies and gear.
I loved his writing style, relating his points through recalled examples with wit mixed in with instruction.
A book for those interested in truly "roughing it" by camping in a remote wilderness with minimal supplies and gear.
July 7, 2017
For a book written in the 1890's it's still a pretty good read. Feels somewhat incomplete of knowledge but combines story and technique in a way that still reads well today. I would consider it a classic outdoorsmen novel.
August 21, 2018
Good read for one who enjoys the outdoors
This version does not have illustrations which takes a lot away from the reading experience. Still, the stories make one long for days gone by, and the advice gives a fascinating to into how camping was done without modern tools and toys.
This version does not have illustrations which takes a lot away from the reading experience. Still, the stories make one long for days gone by, and the advice gives a fascinating to into how camping was done without modern tools and toys.
September 6, 2018
Much more than camping and woodcraft.
Starts off a guide on camping and woodcraft, and by degrees, transforms into a philosophical guide to life. "Ah, that thou couldn't know thy joy, are it passes barefoot boy!"
Starts off a guide on camping and woodcraft, and by degrees, transforms into a philosophical guide to life. "Ah, that thou couldn't know thy joy, are it passes barefoot boy!"
March 14, 2022
A lovely insightful guide to camping in a more traditional way from past age. Tid bits of knowledge are dotted amongst the instruction and tales of "Nessmuk". While many of the practices have since become destructive with the increasing pressure of man's effect on their environment.
September 16, 2017
Good stuff in here. Practical and enjoyable.
November 13, 2017
interesting and inspiring. what a tough and practical charater. it was interesting to get his perspective on being in the outdoors and surving/living off the land. Oh how times have changed.
May 23, 2019
Entertaining and full of good knowledge.
Would refer others to it. Easy read and has a nice flow to it. We should all take a 10 day trek on our own.
Would refer others to it. Easy read and has a nice flow to it. We should all take a 10 day trek on our own.
November 23, 2020
Interesting read on 19th century camping, canoeing and fishing. This is more of a book of stories than it is a how-to: however, it contains great insight for the outdoorsman.
April 7, 2021
Want to see how your grand pappy did it? Sears is a unique historical perspective on adventure as the frontiers closed and we entere into a more modern era of interaction with nature.
April 15, 2021
Excellent
A must read for genuine outdoorsmen and woodsmen. Full of experience, wisdom, information and sound woods lore. You will not regret this purchase.
A must read for genuine outdoorsmen and woodsmen. Full of experience, wisdom, information and sound woods lore. You will not regret this purchase.
July 6, 2021
Underwhelming. It's so much tied up in overly specific and old fashioned jargon that the useful anecdotes and bushcrafty advice get lost. Glad I read it, but equally glad I'm done.
January 7, 2023
This is a dream old book. Written at the very beginning of people going camping for fun. When you needed to know skills of the outdoors. Full of the old ways, great camp and survival tips.
March 14, 2023
Love these old timey outdoor books. Good philosophy.
March 22, 2025
Vastly entertaining and educational
I acquired this book on the recommendation of Dave Canterbury's YouTube videos. I really enjoyed it and actually learned a few things.
I acquired this book on the recommendation of Dave Canterbury's YouTube videos. I really enjoyed it and actually learned a few things.
February 27, 2025
I may have learned a terrible lesson already this year: I do not have any idea what relevance is when it pertains to books that I read. All three books I've read so far this year have been the same story: "Oh, this is okay I guess, but not really pertinent to me". It's almost like I don't camp and/or live in the woods, but who could've told me that?
This book seems decently practical, namely in that it seems to cover the most significant aspects of camping. One element I enjoyed was how, when speaking on a topic (such as building a fire, for example), Sears would give how it's usually done, and then how it SHOULD be done. He's rather descriptive, though I don't understand all of the nomenclature, and so it becomes very hard for me to follow and to visualize the process he outlines when building a fire or a lean-to, or doing any other such crafting. In hindsight, especially right now while it's frigid and freezing outside, I don't really know what I was expecting to gain from these books, because so far they haven't given me much. I feel like I haven't gotten much to readily apply. I think I struggled with the concept of where to start as far as getting into gardening/horticulture/camping/general outdoors stuff, and I've seemingly chosen poorly.
I will also say that the book has a little bit of personality to it, as Sears uses a very candid and casual vernacular that can make the pages, at times, pleasing to flip through.
I wish the explanations came with more diagrams, or were just generally easier to understand, but I think that this is probably the most actually useful book I've read thus far this year. Ironically, my goal of "connecting" to nature more this year, seems to have been thwarted, because these books have had me feel far more like a true city-dweller.
If I do start picking up some of these activities as we get into the spring, I could see myself potentially revisiting this book, but considering it's intent as a sort of manual, I think it can be formatted or just otherwise accomplished in a far better fashion, which I may soon find out with what all else I have awaiting me on my reading list.
Overall, this still lands in a true C- Tier for me. It wasn't bad, and I can see the use, just maybe not all presented in the best possible way, and at times it seems to trail off into useless tangents or anecdotes.
This book seems decently practical, namely in that it seems to cover the most significant aspects of camping. One element I enjoyed was how, when speaking on a topic (such as building a fire, for example), Sears would give how it's usually done, and then how it SHOULD be done. He's rather descriptive, though I don't understand all of the nomenclature, and so it becomes very hard for me to follow and to visualize the process he outlines when building a fire or a lean-to, or doing any other such crafting. In hindsight, especially right now while it's frigid and freezing outside, I don't really know what I was expecting to gain from these books, because so far they haven't given me much. I feel like I haven't gotten much to readily apply. I think I struggled with the concept of where to start as far as getting into gardening/horticulture/camping/general outdoors stuff, and I've seemingly chosen poorly.
I will also say that the book has a little bit of personality to it, as Sears uses a very candid and casual vernacular that can make the pages, at times, pleasing to flip through.
I wish the explanations came with more diagrams, or were just generally easier to understand, but I think that this is probably the most actually useful book I've read thus far this year. Ironically, my goal of "connecting" to nature more this year, seems to have been thwarted, because these books have had me feel far more like a true city-dweller.
If I do start picking up some of these activities as we get into the spring, I could see myself potentially revisiting this book, but considering it's intent as a sort of manual, I think it can be formatted or just otherwise accomplished in a far better fashion, which I may soon find out with what all else I have awaiting me on my reading list.
Overall, this still lands in a true C- Tier for me. It wasn't bad, and I can see the use, just maybe not all presented in the best possible way, and at times it seems to trail off into useless tangents or anecdotes.
May 1, 2014
I want to go camping with the author. I know, he's long since passed on from this mortal coil, yet I still would go camping with the old woodsman.
At the start of the book I didn't realize the author had quite a dry, and somewhat cutting, wit. Mt first experience with his wit had me scratching my head a bit. I wasn't sure how serious, or not, he was. I figured out his style fairly quick and proceeded to enjoy his dry asides. For example "If you go to hunt, take a solemn oath never to point the shooting end of your gun toward yourself or any other human being. In still-hunting, swear yourself black in the face never to shoot at a dim, moving object in the woods for a deer, unless you have seen that it is a deer. In these days there are quite as many hunters as deer in the woods; and it is a heavy, wearisome job to pack a dead or wounded man ten or twelve miles out to a clearing, let alone that it spoils all the pleasure of the hunt, and is apt to raise hard feelings among his relations." Here's another: "Rods, reels, casting lines, flies and fish are described and descanted on in a way, and in a language, the reading whereof reduces me to temporary insanity."
A couple of things struck me while reading, he doesn't concern himself at all about hunting or fishing licenses. He doesn't concern himself with hunting seasons as defined by the some state's Department of Wildlife. I assume such things were newly minted at the most, and possibly didn't exist at all during his time.
Another was he didn't talk about water except how to fish in it or cook with it. Again, I assume he didn't talk about it because it was a non issue. Water was drinkable, by and large, wherever he camped. So no need to discuss how to purify it because it didn't need it.
I was impressed on how light he packed. "I made calculations on losing the trail the first day, and being out a full week. The outfit consisted of rifle, hatchet, compass, blanket-bag, knapsack and knife. For rations, one loaf of bread, two quarts of meal, two pounds of pork, one pound of sugar, with tea, salt, etc., and a supply of jerked venison. One tin dish, twelve rounds of ammunition, and the bullet-molds, filled the list, and did not make a heavy load." That's all he packed for a 10 day hike across nearly uncharted territory at the time, with no GPS, or a chance of running into another single soul the entire trip. He made the trip successfully then warned the reader to never be as foolhardy as he was.
Technology has changed; newer, lighter materials make up a plethora of equipment, and yet the desire to "get away from it all" remains. Something ancient in the soul still touches a few, and merely asks them to commune with nature outside the comforts we've painstakingly created for our society. Something insides asks to rub against Nature in a most unfiltered state and enjoy her offerings as they come.
The author sits on a fallen log, enjoying a smoke while someone like me flails about the campsite, trying to capture, even for a brief moment, what the old woodsman effortlessly exhibits.
It's old, it's dated, it's a quite gem, a classic in it's own right.
At the start of the book I didn't realize the author had quite a dry, and somewhat cutting, wit. Mt first experience with his wit had me scratching my head a bit. I wasn't sure how serious, or not, he was. I figured out his style fairly quick and proceeded to enjoy his dry asides. For example "If you go to hunt, take a solemn oath never to point the shooting end of your gun toward yourself or any other human being. In still-hunting, swear yourself black in the face never to shoot at a dim, moving object in the woods for a deer, unless you have seen that it is a deer. In these days there are quite as many hunters as deer in the woods; and it is a heavy, wearisome job to pack a dead or wounded man ten or twelve miles out to a clearing, let alone that it spoils all the pleasure of the hunt, and is apt to raise hard feelings among his relations." Here's another: "Rods, reels, casting lines, flies and fish are described and descanted on in a way, and in a language, the reading whereof reduces me to temporary insanity."
A couple of things struck me while reading, he doesn't concern himself at all about hunting or fishing licenses. He doesn't concern himself with hunting seasons as defined by the some state's Department of Wildlife. I assume such things were newly minted at the most, and possibly didn't exist at all during his time.
Another was he didn't talk about water except how to fish in it or cook with it. Again, I assume he didn't talk about it because it was a non issue. Water was drinkable, by and large, wherever he camped. So no need to discuss how to purify it because it didn't need it.
I was impressed on how light he packed. "I made calculations on losing the trail the first day, and being out a full week. The outfit consisted of rifle, hatchet, compass, blanket-bag, knapsack and knife. For rations, one loaf of bread, two quarts of meal, two pounds of pork, one pound of sugar, with tea, salt, etc., and a supply of jerked venison. One tin dish, twelve rounds of ammunition, and the bullet-molds, filled the list, and did not make a heavy load." That's all he packed for a 10 day hike across nearly uncharted territory at the time, with no GPS, or a chance of running into another single soul the entire trip. He made the trip successfully then warned the reader to never be as foolhardy as he was.
Technology has changed; newer, lighter materials make up a plethora of equipment, and yet the desire to "get away from it all" remains. Something ancient in the soul still touches a few, and merely asks them to commune with nature outside the comforts we've painstakingly created for our society. Something insides asks to rub against Nature in a most unfiltered state and enjoy her offerings as they come.
The author sits on a fallen log, enjoying a smoke while someone like me flails about the campsite, trying to capture, even for a brief moment, what the old woodsman effortlessly exhibits.
It's old, it's dated, it's a quite gem, a classic in it's own right.
June 11, 2009
This slim volume is written with surprising erudition and humility and is frequently humorous and full of the wisdom and confidence that is the fruit of direct experience.
Nessmuk's diagnosis of our propensity to over-work and the failure to balance this with restorative recreation (rather than frenzied consumer-driven "vacations"), along with his casual but clear-eyed criticism of wasteful practices (taking more than one needs - be it wood or game) gives the book a subtle moral stance. He advises certain techniques or materials to ensure that camp is safe and comfortable and that campers maximize their leisure in and enjoyment of their surroundings - but it is easy to conclude that the general push towards simplicity builds a sort of ethics in those who practice it (at least, during their stay in the woods) as well.
Some of the things he talks about seem amusingly or wistfully outdated (e.g. going "frogging" with a piece of red felt on a fishing line) since it is nearly 90 years on from the time of his writing (and many of his woodland treks that he describes were taken 40 years before that).
While clever, some of his cooking methods may seem outmoded, and some of his shelters may seem overly-elaborate since we have lost the need or knowledge for many of the skills a person would likely have had in his generation (waterproofing your own cotton using lye?). He also seems to go back and forth either providing excessive detail, or more often insufficient detail depending on the task.
That said, there isn't anything described that seems foolish or unworkable, and the majority of his advice remains just as helpful and true as it was when he first published it. He also provides plenty of wry anecdotes to explain why you might want to heed his suggestions (usually by highlighting the humorous folly of other campers, hunters, etc. in contrast) which alone make this book a simple pleasure to read.
Nessmuk's diagnosis of our propensity to over-work and the failure to balance this with restorative recreation (rather than frenzied consumer-driven "vacations"), along with his casual but clear-eyed criticism of wasteful practices (taking more than one needs - be it wood or game) gives the book a subtle moral stance. He advises certain techniques or materials to ensure that camp is safe and comfortable and that campers maximize their leisure in and enjoyment of their surroundings - but it is easy to conclude that the general push towards simplicity builds a sort of ethics in those who practice it (at least, during their stay in the woods) as well.
Some of the things he talks about seem amusingly or wistfully outdated (e.g. going "frogging" with a piece of red felt on a fishing line) since it is nearly 90 years on from the time of his writing (and many of his woodland treks that he describes were taken 40 years before that).
While clever, some of his cooking methods may seem outmoded, and some of his shelters may seem overly-elaborate since we have lost the need or knowledge for many of the skills a person would likely have had in his generation (waterproofing your own cotton using lye?). He also seems to go back and forth either providing excessive detail, or more often insufficient detail depending on the task.
That said, there isn't anything described that seems foolish or unworkable, and the majority of his advice remains just as helpful and true as it was when he first published it. He also provides plenty of wry anecdotes to explain why you might want to heed his suggestions (usually by highlighting the humorous folly of other campers, hunters, etc. in contrast) which alone make this book a simple pleasure to read.
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