Backwoods Ethics: Environmental Issues for Hikers and Campers

by Laura Waterman, Guy Waterman, Bill McKibben (Forward)

The classic guide to low-impact camping and hiking techniques. When Backwoods Ethics was originally published in 1979 it was hailed by environmentalists and wilderness managers as a prophetic call to reevaluate the impact of outdoor recreation on the wilderness. Now, more than twenty years later, its warnings and advice are more relevant than ever. The authors present a stringent ethic of low-impact hiking, camping, cooking, and alpine management techniques in an attempt to preserve the wilderness experience for generations to come. The huge increase in the popularity of recreational hiking and camping since the original publication of this book makes its message even more relevant today and its potential audience even larger.

Author Biography: Laura and Guy Waterman are known throughout New England for their passionate commitment to hiking, climbing, and conservation in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. They have lectured and written on environmental issues for periodicals including Backpacker, Appalachia, and New England Outdoors. Their books include Wilderness Ethics: Preserving the Spirit of Wildness; Forest and Crag: A History of Hiking, Trail Blazing, and Adventure in the Northeast Mountains; Yankee Rock and Ice: A History of Climbing in the Northeastern US; and A Fine Kind of Madness: Mountain Tales Tall and True. Guy died in February 2000; Laura lives in East Corinth, Vermont.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Laura Waterman grew up in New Jersey. Her father, Emily Dickinson scholar, Thomas H. Johnson, taught at the Lawrenceville School. Laura graduated from Hollins University in 1962 with a major in English. 

For the decade of the Sixties, she was an editor in book publishing in New York City.  In 1969 she began climbing and met Guy Waterman, a speechwriter, formerly on Capitol Hill. The couple were married in l972, and in l973, moved to Vermont to establish an off-the-grid homestead.

For the next nearly 30 years, Laura and Guy collaboratively wrote books about mountain ethics and stewardship, subjects that grew out of their own climbing life. Those titles include The Green Guide to Low-Impact Hiking and Camping (formerly titled Backwoods Ethics) and Wilderness Ethics: Preserving the Spirit of Wildness. They also penned two books on the social and trail building history of the Northeast's mountain ranges: Forest and Crag and Yankee Rock & Ice. Their collection, A Fine Kind of Madness: Mountain Adventures Tall and True was a posthumous publication for Guy who died in 2000. 

Guy's choice to take his own life steered Laura to write Losing the Garden: The Story of a Marriage, a memoir about their homesteading, writing, and climbing years, and Laura's attempt to understand her own role in her husband's decision. The book was  selected as an Editor's Pick by the Boston Globe. 

Most recently Laura has published a novel, Starvation Shore, about the Lt. Greely Arctic Expedition (1881-1884). Laura, and posthumously Guy, were awarded the David Brower Conservation Award from the American Alpine Club in 2012, and Laura, in 2019, was inducted into the AAC's Hall of Mountaineering Excellence. 

Guy's death prompted Laura and friends to found the Waterman Fund that works to conserve the alpine areas of northeastern North America. Learn more at: watermanfund.org.
Visit Laura's website: laurawaterman.com

Reviews

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read if you like to go outdoors

[Markus Christoph schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Important concepts to consider for those who love the outdoors.

[Joe Beeson · Rating 3 out of 5]

informative on how to think about our place in the woods. Some of it seems a little harsh, but definitely gets you thinking. Extremely good book list in the back for further reading

[Haley B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys hiking, camping and all-things outdoorsy. I came across this book at an Appalachian Mountain Club hut (Mizpah) last fall with my Dad. We were halfway through a two-day hike across the summits of Mounts Jackson, Eisenhower, Pierce and Monroe, and it was my first [of many] stays at an AMC hut! This book was sitting on a crowded, messy shelf among countless well-loved guest books and wilderness encyclopedias. It came with a note from an AMC "executive" (I hesitate to use this word for all its negative connotations) explaining the authors' disappointment that more interest wasn't taken in their painstakingly researched and assembled book. Well, let me tell you, Laura and Guy Waterman, that since I read your book, I have done my best to spread word about this stunning compilation!!

Not only is this guide jam-packed with relevant, useful information about outdoor etiquette, it's also HYSTERICAL! One chapter that sticks in my mind details all the white lies backpackers tell one another, such as, "We saw 60 mph winds and the temperature dropped to -35 F! I swear, I read -35 F on this very thermometer!" Laura and Guy playfully point out the unlikelihood of this type of scenario actually occurring (or at least the unlikelihood of anyone experiencing these conditions surviving) and many other "tall tales" backpackers tell. These anecdotes are woven seamlessly with the authors' first-hand experiences and carefully thought out amendments to camping practices that ensure the longevity of nature's beautiful bounty. I highly, highly recommend this book, even if you are not a hiker or backpacker. Anyone can appreciate the urgency of facilitating the changes outlined in it (and the book was initially published in 1979), and moreover appreciate the humor and light-hearted tone throughout.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmm. I read this book in Fall 1981 in an earlier edition from Appalachian Mountain Club. This rethinking of camping commonplace conditions influenced me mightily... so much so that for a few years, until 1985-6 and through three weeks camping in archaeology Field school I more frequently camped using a hammock.
Read this.