Out on a date to the public library with #1 wife, this one caught my eye.
Forest Life
George Washington Sears (Nessmuk)
Not exactly survival, but Woodcraft still. Kinda plods through the intro and first half of the book with endless paddling, portage' and regaling of how wonderful light canoes are... Which is all well and good and gives a perspective of the life of the leisurely Adirondack consumptives and asthmatics.
When he finally gets around to camps, camping, fishing and woodcraft it is interesting. He certainly is a minimalist in what he carries and uses and I find myself envious of how simple things can and should be. Normally, I count my camp gear by the truck load. I'm not sure I could get down to bare minimum like he does, but I suppose if I weighed 110# and had a 10# boat I'd have to do with less.
I have to keep reminding myself that he is writing for an 1860- 1880s affluent and rather select audience and while he talks a lot about "wilderness" there sure are a lot of hotels and other folks running around wherever he goes.
There is no doubt he is an accomplished woodsman and has a lot more experience that I do. I'm going to look for some of his other writing, particularly when he was in South America.
Overall a good book and Canoeists will likely appreciate it.
Alan
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