In this guide to low-impact hiking and camping, Laura and Guy Waterman present a strong case for the importance of respecting the natural world while you're enjoying it. Day hikers, campers, and backpackers who follow the sensible techniques laid out in this book will help preserve the wilderness experience for generations to come.

Revised edition of: Backwoods ethics. c1993.

Hikers : who are we? -- That pack on the back: Mae West vs. Twiggy -- Backpackers' favorite lies -- Peakbagging -- The 2,000-mile community on the move -- Winter camping idyll -- The greatest walkers of them all -- II. The new ethic -- The coming of the lug-soled army -- Cleaning up our act -- Low-impact hiking: of boots, mud, and grandmothers -- Low-impact camping: swinging in the woods -- Low-impact cooking: the fire goes out -- The 46ers -- III. Toward a sense of stewardship -- A day in the life of the nuts -- Trail tending -- Seven days in April -- To save a mountain flower: preserving alpine areas -- a three part saga. The physical component ; Education above the trees ; Making two blades of grass to grow -- Rock climbers and their environment, 1970 -- IV. Four unresolved impact issues -- Case study 1: Low-impact bushwhacking -- Case study 2: Man's best friend, or menace to wilderness? -- Case study 3: Rock climbers and their environment, 1990 -- Case study 4: Winter camping: tracks in more than the snow -- Epilogue.