Outside of the city and suburbs, the natural world has a power to inspire the best and soothe the worst within each of us. It has much to teach us about the wilderness within, and about the "greater power" manifest in the sublimity of nature. In this his last work, beloved author Gerald May offers a memoir and spiritual guide which reveals the great lessons available to us when we retreat from our busy lives to the serenity of the natural wilderness
Survival Wisdom & Know-How is the ultimate all-in-one survival guide; filled to the brim with information on every aspect of outdoor life and adventure, from orienteering to campfire cooking to ice climbing and more. Culled from dozens of respected books from Stackpole -- the industry's leader in outdoor adventure -- this massive collection of wilderness know-how leaves absolutely nothing to chance when it comes to surviving and thriving outdoors. Topics include: Orienteering Building an Outdoor Shelter Hunting and Tracking Animals Tying Knots Identifying Edible Plants and Berries Surviving in the Desert Fishing and Ice Fishing Canoeing, Kayaking, and White Water Rafting And so much more! Useful illustrations and photos throughout make it easy to browse and use. With contributions by the experts at the National Outdoor Leadership School as well as the editors of Stackpole's Discover Nature series, this book is the definitive, must-have reference for the great outdoors.
Carolyn Highland's outdoor writing will drive readers and outdoor enthusiasts to "get outside" and experience all that the natural world has to offer. Out Here is a collection of essays that explores what the wilderness has to teach us about the human experience, using outdoor endeavours as extended metaphors for greater truths. Each carefully chosen piece embarks on a different physical and metaphorical journey: managing expectations and reality during a medical emergency in a 40-mile ski mountaineering race; staring down fear and consequences on exposed ski lines in Alaska; re-examining self-reliance and decision-making through heartbreak and snow science; and leaving room for unexpected magic as a female travelling through Patagonia. Highland's first book inspires a deeper connection to the wilderness, a deeper connection to ourselves, and will leave readers wanting more from this fresh new voice in mountain writing.
Years after losing his lower right leg in a motorcycle crash, Robert Kull traveled to a remote island in Patagonia's coastal wilderness with equipment and supplies to live alone for a year. He sought to explore the effects of deep solitude on the body and mind and to find the spiritual answers he'd been seeking all his life. With only a cat and his thoughts as companions, he wrestled with inner storms while the wild forces of nature raged around him. The physical challenges were immense, but the struggles of mind and spirit pushed him even further. Solitude: Seeking Wisdom in Extremes is the diary of Kull's tumultuous year. Chronicling a life distilled to its essence, Solitude is also a philosophical meditation on the tensions between nature and technology, isolation and society. With humor and brutal honesty, Kull explores the pain and longing we typically avoid in our frantically busy lives as well as the peace and wonder that arise once we strip away our distractions. He describes the enormous Patagonia wilderness with poetic attention, transporting the reader directly into both his inner and outer experiences.
The wolf was so close now... Approaching the place where the edge of the forest met the open meadow, I paused before stepping out from the shadows of the trees. The sun was directly overhead. In that moment I stood frozen in my tracks next to the fresh footprint of the wolf that had led me here. I was sharing this trail with the wolf and I did not want the moment to end. I wanted that wolf to be with me forever. (from Chapter Seven, Pack) Dawn Again: Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild is a memoir of exploration and survival that will inspire you to better tend to the planet, even if it’s simply tending the soil in your own backyard! Doniga has given us a manual on how to get in touch with our best selves, through getting in touch with the earth. —Joan Baez Dawn Again takes readers along a young woman’s journey from unsettled teen to immersive nature school student to wildlife tracker to a cattle woman on a mission to save the food system through regenerative agricultural practices that restore the soil and other non-human elements of the planet. From one of the few female voices in both wilderness immersion and ranching, Dawn Again is a nature memoir that shares Doniga’s experience hitchhiking across the pacific northwest, waiting patiently to connect with a deer on its terms, and tracking in Alaska where she finally came face to face with white wolves and the rigor of wilderness survival. When Doniga tracks mountain lions with Erik, a rancher, she finds herself falling in love with more than just nature. She settles down on a cattle ranch on the California coast to start a family, and has to learn how to apply the deep lessons of the wild to her everyday life. Advocating for nature knowledge and ecological wisdom, Dawn Again dives into Doniga's real-life experiences as a woman, environmentalist, wilderness expert, woman rancher, mother, and producer in the food system.
Offers practical advice on outdoor clothing, packs, sleeping bags, shelters, fire making, use of the ax, outdoor sanitation, camp cookery, edible plants, canoeing and trailcraft.
There are more crows now than ever. Their abundance is both an indicator of ecological imbalance and a generous opportunity to connect with the animal world. Crow Planet reminds us that we do not need to head to faraway places to encounter "nature." Rather, even in the suburbs and cities where we live we are surrounded by wild life such as crows, and through observing them we can enhance our appreciation of the world's natural order. Crow Planet richly weaves Haupt's own "crow stories" as well as scientific and scholarly research and the history and mythology of crows, culminating in a book that is sure to make readers see the world around them in a very different way.
At the core of this collection are 30 poems inspired by the stories of kinship between saints and animals. They come mostly from the early Christian desert and Celtic traditions, but also feature later medieval saints like St. Francis of Assisi and St. Julian of Norwich. These stories point to a reverence for a different way of knowing and being in the world, one our world is hungry for. Each poem in this collection is meant to be a doorway to intimacy with our inner wilderness, a call to sit and be present to what we discover beyond the borders of our neatly controlled worlds.
Delves into nature folklore from around the world in six topical categories, featuring for each category one traditional tale and extensive ancient lore about that topic.
