Camping For Dummies
by Michael Hodgson
Camping For Dummies
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright 2000 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 99-69710
ISBN: 978-0-7645-5221-2
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5
1B/RV/QV/QY/IN
About the Author
Recognized nationally for his poignant writing style, humor, and knowledge of the outdoors, award-winning journalist and author Michael Hodgson constantly seeks the wilder side in search of a good story or rip-roaring adventure, like when he captained Team Media in the inaugural Eco-Challenge 360-mile adventure race in Utah.
Michael currently works as a content editor for Planet Outdoors and is a founding partner in GearTrends LLC www.GearTrends.com the premier information Web site for new products and trends in the outdoor sport, snow sport, fitness, paddling, and bike markets. His other Web site www.adventurenetwork.com was recognized in 1999 as a USA Today Hot Site, a Featured Expert award winner, and a Golden Globe award winner.
Michael served as the gear editor for Mens Health magazine from 1997 to 1999 and during that time was also the on-air talent covering gear and trends for the nationally syndicated weekly program Outside Radio Network.
Michaels articles have appeared in Backpacker, Outside, Mens Journal, Adventure Journal, Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, and The Christian Science Monitor, among other periodicals. He has published 18 books on the outdoors. Prior to becoming a fulltime writer in 1988, Michael worked as mountain guide, outdoor education instructor, and Nordic ski instructor; as general manager of Western Mountaineering, an outdoor specialty store and sleeping bag manufacturer; and as a store manager for Adventure 16, a highly successful chain of outdoor specialty stores in Southern California.
When not behind a computer working on his Web sites, books, or magazine articles, Michael can be found paddling oceans, running trails, climbing mountains, or wandering the backcountry by himself or with his daughter Nikki and wife Therese. In other words, he gets paid to play it doesnt get much better than that, does it?
Dedication
For my mother, who encouraged my first steps outdoors; my father, who guided my feet on wild trails as I was growing up; my daughter, Nikki, who inspires me by seeing everything through fresh eyes; and my wife, Therese, whose loving smile and sparkle are my favorite hiking companions.
Authors Acknowledgments
With any camping trip, there must be a beginning, and so it was with this book. I must thank Mark Reiter, my agent with the International Management Group, who saw in me the perfect dummy for this book. Im grateful to Stacy Collins at Wiley who agreed with Mark that I was the right one for a project she had wanted to see completed for over a year before my assignment.
My friend Kristin Hostetter, equipment editor of Backpacker magazine, deserves more thanks than I can possibly offer here for taking on the challenge of technical editing. Because of her, this book is more accurate, more useful, more practical, and simply much better than I could ever have hoped for had I done it alone.
This book never would have been possible had it not been for many folks who over the years had enough faith in me to be my friends and my advisors. I can only name a few and apologize now to the hundreds who I count as friends and hope that a collective thank you and you know who you are will suffice. There are a number of individuals whom I need to single out for special thanks, though. Tim Rowell, who helped me guide many trips in the mountains with paying clients imagine that and stood at my side as best man twice. Mark Jenkins, with whom I still hope to complete a trip worthy of our friendship and mutual sense of adventure, for being a fellow traveler in the field of words. Marcus Woolf, for being there through thick and thin and for helping me learn, by trial and error, the better ways to camp no, I will never forget a stove repair kit again. Jim Ward, my first editor at a small, free paper Footprints distributed all over Southern California to Adventure 16 patrons. Tom Shealy, editor of Backpacker magazine, who, upon reading my first submission to a big name publication, returned it with thoughtful editing and suggestions on improving the piece. Thanks for having enough belief in me that you published that article the second time around and, in effect, gave me the confidence to continue. Mic and John Mead for giving me a chance to find my wings in the outdoors at Adventure 16. Joan Alvarez for taking a chance with me and helping me become a better outdoor writer while I was at Outdoor Retailer. Wendy Geister, who showed me that editing is an art form worth appreciating. Tom Stienstra, who embodies the ideal outdoor writer from the beard and hat right down to his boots. And Bob Woodward, who has become my friend and partner in the business of fun.