Backpacker's Start-Up: A Beginner's Guide to Hiking and Backpacking

by Doug Werner

Aimed specifically at the novice outdoor adventurer, this comprehensive guide explains the essential gear, preparations, precautions, and techniques required for day hiking and short backpacking trips. Through informative, entertaining, and encouraging personal anecdotes, the guide emphasizes the physical, aesthetic, and spiritual benefits of spending time in nature. Essential first aid and map-reading information is also included.

Genres: Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1999

Reviews

[Echo3180]

Do not follow the advice presented in the hypothermia section.

[dclaxton80yahoo.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty basic, but it is a beginner's guide. And I don't want to miss the basic things I should know!

[Mikayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took about an hour to read through. Definitely a good overview for somebody who knows nothing about backpacking and wants a basic, general understanding of backpacking terminology for additional research.

Rating would be higher if the author actually gave a shit about their writing. The writing is absolutely terrible. The book is riddled with fragmented sentences and barely comprehensible paragraphs. Thankfully, 80% of the book is pictures and bullet points.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can read this in a day, but you can also find all of the content on the Internet and it will be more current. However, it is nice to get someone's objective outline of what you need to know along with subjective opinions reached through experience.

[Doris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book for getting started backpacking. Though most is "review" for me, much is "good" review.