Suggestion for Book to Read on Trail

Discuss your favorite wilderness related books. Share your favorite poetry, quotes and folktales. Here's your chance to showcase your creative side!
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OzSwaggie
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Suggestion for Book to Read on Trail

Post by OzSwaggie »

Can anyone suggest a novel/book I could take on a 20 day trip this upcoming summer? I reckon I can read about five or six pages each night before conking out, so it doesn't need to be very long, and in fact thinner/lighter is better. I enjoy lots of different books - to give an idea I love Colin Fletcher's "The 1,000 mile summer", enjoy some Cormac McCarthy (eg The Road) but a bit dark for a "vacation" read!, I have read Nevada Barr's book about Yosemite but a bit scary/violent to read while actually IN the wilderness! Liked Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods". But I find a lot of pop 'best seller' type writing is not a writing style I enjoy - last trip I bought a lightweight bestseller novel at the airport and could NOT read it! But on the same trip I came across a copy of Alexander McCall Smith's "The #1 Ladies Detective Agency" at VVR and loved it so much I've read five of the series since getting home - so that sort of thing is perfect!

So I'm looking for a story, well written, maybe humorous, that won't give me nightmares in my tent at night! Any suggestions? (I took Walt Whitman poetry with me one trip but I found that at night I was too tired for that, I just wanted a story ...)
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sparky
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Re: Suggestion for Book to Read on Trail

Post by sparky »

Try Brave New World by Aldus Huxley :) I really enjoy his strange vision inducing style. Great for just before bed.

Or Flatland....nice small book, dont remember the author
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LightRanger
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Re: Suggestion for Book to Read on Trail

Post by LightRanger »

A River Runs Through It.

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maverick
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Re: Suggestion for Book to Read on Trail

Post by maverick »

Hi LightRanger,

Welcome to HST! Thanks for your input.
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I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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Carne_DelMuerto
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Re: Suggestion for Book to Read on Trail

Post by Carne_DelMuerto »

I'll second "A River Runs Through It." Beautiful story that I reread about once a year over the course of a couple days.
Wonder is rock and water and the life that lives in-between.
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LightRanger
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Re: Suggestion for Book to Read on Trail

Post by LightRanger »

maverick wrote:Hi LightRanger,

Welcome to HST! Thanks for your input.
Thanks for the welcome, Maverick. :)

Came back to this thread to add some more:

Just about anything by Stegner.
Norman Clyde's "Close Ups of the High Sierra" from Spotted Dog Press (Obviously the subject is cool, and Clyde was a pretty decent writer. He had a degree in Classic Lit.)
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oldranger
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Re: Suggestion for Book to Read on Trail

Post by oldranger »

For a 20 day trip you need a long book, during that period of time you are bound to have a rainy day or two--a river runs thru it is a great read but too short. if you haven't read it I suggest James Clavell's Shogun. Find and old used version with small print. Lasted me 20 days back in 1980.

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Re: Suggestion for Book to Read on Trail

Post by giantbrookie »

oldranger wrote:For a 20 day trip you need a long book, during that period of time you are bound to have a rainy day or two--a river runs thru it is a great read but too short. if you haven't read it I suggest James Clavell's Shogun. Find and old used version with small print. Lasted me 20 days back in 1980.

Mike
Hmmm perhaps for 20 days you need something even longer. Try Romance of the Three Kingdoms or Outlaws of the Marsh. Of course if you spend much of your camp time fishing you'll never finish RTK in 20 days. Come to think of it, you probably won't finish it in 20 days even if you don't spend any time fishing.
Since my fishing (etc.) website is still down, you can be distracted by geology stuff at: http://www.fresnostate.edu/csm/ees/facu ... ayshi.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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OzSwaggie
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Re: Suggestion for Book to Read on Trail

Post by OzSwaggie »

Thanks all for suggestions - I would never have thought of some of these! I'm gonna take the list to the second hand book shop and see what I can find!
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Re: Suggestion for Book to Read on Trail

Post by cmon4day »

"Way of the Scout" by Tom Brown
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