You're no idiot, of course. You know how to make the bed, start the oven, even keep the squirrels out of the backyard bird feeder. But when it comes to pitching a tent, lighting a campfire, and warding off bears, you feel like Lucy and Ricky on their camping trip. Don't try to 'splain just yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide to Camping and Hiking, Second Edition, teaches you the simple skills you need to take the trauma out of camping. This updated edition can help you feel confident about choosing and using your equipment...even in the middle of winter! In this Complete Idiot's guide, you get:

A guide so thorough it will send you packing... Backpacking remains one of the most popular, and inexpensive, outdoor activities in America. The Complete Idiot's Guide (r) to Backpacking and Hiking helps anyone prepare and plan for a rewarding adventure. Covers planning, training, shopping and packing for the trip. -How to live on the trail -First aid and other safety tips -Practical time- and money-saving hints -What gear is necessary and what isn't -Special considerations when travelling with groups or pets

Helps anyone prepare and plan for a hiking or backpacking adventure, including how to train, shop and pack for the trip, how to live on the trail and what gear is really necessary.

God only knows what possessed Bill Bryson, a reluctant adventurer if ever there was one, to undertake a gruelling hike along the world's longest continuous footpath—The Appalachian Trail. The 2,000-plus-mile trail winds through 14 states, stretching along the east coast of the United States, from Georgia to Maine. It snakes through some of the wildest and most spectacular landscapes in North America, as well as through some of its most poverty-stricken and primitive backwoods areas. With his offbeat sensibility, his eye for the absurd, and his laugh-out-loud sense of humour, Bryson recounts his confrontations with nature at its most uncompromising over his five-month journey. An instant classic, riotously funny, A Walk in the Woods will add a whole new audience to the legions of Bill Bryson fans.

Offers guidelines on basic lifesaving skills from CPR to wound dressing, surviving harsh climates and terrains, handling emergenies on the road or in the home, and preparing for personal attacks and disasters.

Whether you're a first-time backpacker, an occasional weekend warrior, or a seasoned long-distance trekker, this guide is a must for any backpacking, hiking, or camping trip. Supreme long-distance hiker Andrew Skurka—accomplished adventure athlete, speaker, guide, and writer—shares his knowledge in this essential guide to backpacking gear and skills. Skurka recounts what he's learned from more than 30,000 miles of long-distance hikes, including the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide Trails, and the 4,700-mile Alaska-Yukon Expedition. A show-and-tell guide to clothing, footwear, backpacks, shelter and sleep systems, camp stoves, and more, as well as tips on foot care, campsite selection, and hiking efficiency, this single book contains all the knowledge you'll need to hit the trail. This second edition features 16 new pages (including food on the trail and other essentials), and updates all gear recommendations.

The path to an adventurous life seems straightforward: Crush at an outdoor sport; amass a legion of followers who drool at your hero shots on Instagram; host TED talks exhorting people to live their best life, brah. But there is another way: the way of the Wilderness Idiot. Author Ted Alvarez built a career and an outdoor lifestyle by simply not being smart enough to say no to things that will probably kill him, or at least embarrass him severely. From nearly drowning in pro kayak races to hallucinating on solo trips across bear-and-bug-infested wildernesses, his work exists to show that the outsider Everywoman and -man can have the spotlight. In a series of hilarious and insightful essays, Alvarez shows that you don’t need to shred sick lines to find adventure—you just have to embrace the blank spots beyond your comfort zone. That way lies self-knowledge, soul-quieting confidence, and the soul of wilderness. More than most, Alvarez knows outsiders belong outside—and he wants to welcome them into the tribe. The Wilderness Idiot airlifts readers to the world’s most remote places (in reality and in the mind) and make them feel so at home they’ll start dreaming about adventures of their own.

Offers information and advice on how to install and repair home electrical wiring, including when and how to deal with professionals, and the specific requirements of different rooms.