The Ultimate Desert Handbook : A Manual for Desert Hikers, Campers and Travelers - Softcover

Mark Johnson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 007139303X ISBN 13: 9780071393034

Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press, 2003

Synopsis

Discover the joys of desert camping, hiking, and travel

Harsh, yet hauntingly beautiful; arid, yet teeming with life; inhospitable, yet profoundly peaceful--the earth's deserts beckon the poet and the backpacker, the artist and the adventurer. If you're heading into the desert, however, you should know what to expect, what to look for, and how to withstand extreme desert conditions.

Richly illustrated with photographs and drawings, The Ultimate Desert Handbook is your complete guide to hiking, exploration, and survival in fascinating but unforgiving desert terrain. It gives you the crucial information you need to make the most of any desert sojourn, including detailed descriptions of North American deserts, their plants and wildlife, and their distinctive geological features. You'll also find the most comprehensive tutorial on desert navigation ever published and expert advice on equipment, safety, and first-aid techniques. You'll learn how to:

• Select the perfect desert campsite
• Manage your water supply
• Share the landscape with desert wildlife
• Maintain vehicles in desert conditions
• Protect yourself with the right clothing and equipment
• Be at home in a vast and elemental terrain

About this title

From the Author:

I intended The Ultimate Desert Handbook to be the reference I always wanted to have with me when exploring the desert, but could never find on the shelves. Not just a ordinary trail guidebook, the Ultimate Desert Handbook was written to provide hikers and other desert visitors with information on the deserts of the world, the peoples, plants and wildlife of North America, and how to safely coexist and survive in a new and perhaps unfamiliar part of our world. The book's 296 pages covers all aspects of desert hiking, backpacking, wheeled travel, equipment, navigation, and survival. Whether it's getting water out of primitive wells, using a map and compass, trip preparation, clothing recommendations, emergency water collection techniques, or GPS navigation tips, the Handbook provides much needed information on how to thrive in the desert environment. The book also contains extensive historical background and modern examples to demonstrate the importance of desert skills to the reader. Whether you're an experienced 'desert rat' or a newcomer to the desert, you'll find The Ultimate Desert Handbook provides more useful information on the desert than anything else in print. May it help you enjoy countless desert adventures of your own!

About the Author:

Mark Johnson has eighteen years of experience in desert hiking and exploration in North America and North Africa. A frequent writer and lecturer on the subject, he has been published in several magazines, including Four-Wheeler and Desert Survivor.

About this edition

• Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 007139303X
• ISBN 13: 9780071393034
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 296