Peter Brown Hoffmeister - Let Them Be Eaten By Bears: A Fearless Guide to Taking Our Kids Into the Great Outdoors

Advance Praise for

Let Them Be Eaten by Bears

In an age when the pressures are all against kids spending time outdoors, it takes a determined and resourceful writer to go against this tide. Peter Brown Hoffmeister is one such writer and this book deserves to be read very widely.

Tristan Gooley, author of The Natural Navigator

Praise for

Graphic the Valley

In Peter Brown Hoffmeisters Graphic the Valley, youll enter the life of Yosemites other visitors, the nomadic climbers and rootless drifters, fed by dreams, a wish to escape, or a natives desire to never leave his ancestral home. Hoffmeisters intimate knowledge of this place, this way of life, pulls you in, ensnares you in the struggle to protect Yosemite from itself. But, more than that, youll live with these people, feel the exhilaration of new love, the crushing pain of its loss, become a young man searching for who he is, all amid the valleys, domes, and rivers of one of the worlds most beautiful places.

Pete Fromm, author of Indian Creek Chronicles:
A Winter Alone in the Wilderness

Author and climber Peter Brown Hoffmeister has woven history, adventure, family, and tragedy into a gripping story set in one of Americas most legendary climbing epicenters. Bold, colorful characters and stark prose carry the plot of this singular novel that accelerates all the way to the last page. Hoffmeister has clearly spent his life studying Yosemite, climbing its cracks, walking its trails, exploring its caves, and learning its human history. A wonderful read for anyone whos spent time in the Valleyor needs another reason to visit someday.

Brendan Leonard, contributing editor, Climbing Magazine

Praise for

The End of Boys

BrilliantHoffmeister calls every sense into play, providing rich imagery, grounded reflection, and the tension inherent in a coming-of-age tale.

LA Review

The End of Boys takes no prisoners with its gritty, entrancing realisma chilling and captivating reada voice that is refreshingly new.

Eugene Weekly

Let Them
Be Eaten by
Bears

A Fearless Guide to
Taking Our Kids into the
Great Outdoors

Peter Brown Hoffmeister

A PERIGEE BOOK

A PERIGEE BOOK

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

USA Canada UK Ireland Australia New Zealand India South Africa China

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

For more information about the Penguin Group, visit penguin.com.

Copyright 2013 by Peter Hoffmeister

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

PERIGEE is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

The P design is a trademark belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hoffmeister, Peter Brown.

Let them be eaten by bears : a fearless guide to taking our kids into the great outdoors / Peter Brown Hoffmeister. First edition.

pages cm

A Perigee book.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN: 978-1-101-62259-9

1. Outdoor recreation for children. 2. Family recreation. I. Title.

GV191.63.H65 2013

790.083dc23 2013001280

First edition: May 2013

Text design by Tiffany Estreicher

Outdoor recreational activities are by their very nature potentially hazardous. All participants in such activities must assume the responsibility for their own actions and safety. If you have any health problems or medical conditions, consult with your physician before undertaking any outdoor activities. The information contained in this guidebook cannot replace sound judgment and good decision making, which can help reduce risk exposure, nor does the scope of this book allow for disclosure of all the potential hazards and risks involved in such activities.

Learn as much as possible about the outdoor recreational activities in which you participate, prepare for the unexpected, and be cautious. The reward will be a safer and more enjoyable experience.

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and other contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication.

Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Most Perigee books are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, or educational use. Special books, or book excerpts, can also be created to fit specific needs. For details, write: Special Markets, Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

To My Crew:
Jennie, Rain, and Ruth,
IOP Students Past and Present,
Dane Tornell, Lee Baker, and Jeff Hess

Must we always teach our children with books? Let them look at the mountains and the stars up above. Let them look at the beauty of the waters and the trees and flowers on earth. They will then begin to think, and to think is the beginning of a real education.

DAVID POLIS, ENVIRONMENTALIST AND
OUTDOOR EDUCATOR

A venturesome minority will always be eager to set off on their own, and no obstacles should be placed in their path; let them take risks, for godsake, let them get lost, sunburnt, stranded, drowned, eaten by bears, buried alive under avalanchesthat is the right and privilege of any free American.

EDWARD ABBEY, DESERT SOLITAIRE

Did That Kid Just Steal Your Nature?

W e are human beings of the twenty-first century, and we enjoy comfort. We like climate-controlled leather car seats, pillow-top mattresses, Snuggies, thread counts above a thousand, and heat-pump/air-conditioning units that keep us at a stable 70F all year around. Most of us like being outside in early summer, when the weather is perfect, but indoors when it rains. We like nature because nature is pretty, but we dont like to struggle, and we certainly dont want to suffer through rough nature experiences. And taking kids outside for any extended period of time can be rough. So why do it?