Camping's Forgotten Skills: Backwood Tips from a Boundary Waters Guide

Camping out has changed considerably from the good old days of pine bough beds, bonfires and fresh-cut trail shelters. No longer is it ethical to shape the land to suit our whims. There are just too few wild places and too many of us. It's important to have high tech equipment, but what if you can't afford it? What if you become separated from your stove in a capsize? What if a large tear develops in your tent in canyon country or a remote northern river? Are you prepared? Are your skills honed? Cliff Jacobson, the world's most prolific camping and canoeing writer, has written this book to make the old timers proud. Make fire by flint and steel, and bow-drill. Construct a zippered fabric bag for your cooking utensils and pots. Modify pots and pans for trail use. Dehydrate food. Sharpen and work with edged tools. Mend broken zippers, grommets and straps. Make a stove out of a tin can. Fish to survive. Signal rescue personnel using heliograph, Morse code, and smoke. Forage for edible food.