The Bivouac Handbook (A No-Nonsense Guide to Austere Wildnerness Camping)

The Bivouac Handbook

A No-Nonsense Guide to Austere Wilderness Camping

Rob Reaser

The Bivouac Handbook

A No-Nonsense Guide to Austere Wilderness Camping

Smashwords Edition

copyright 2012 by Rob Reaser

published by Reaser Brand Communications, LLC

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

All images are copyright by Rob Reaser.

All persons, product names, trademarks and copyright materials identified or presented in this book are used in an editorial fashion only and with no intention of infringement of the trademark or copyright. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book.

Cover design and book production by Reaser Brand Communications, LLC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Section 1: Planning

Section 2: Packs

Section 3: Bedding

Section 4: Shelter

Section 5: First-Aid

Section 6: Water

Section 7: All the Rest

Conclusion

About the Author

Introduction

Backpacking and camping are supposed to be enjoyable pursuits. Get away from everything, explore, relax in the outdoors and have a good time. And so they are, for the most part. But heading into the wilderness with everything you need to survive comfortably for a day or two (or three) can be mentally and physically exhausting. For some folks, prepping for an overnight adventure into the wilds involves many hours of selecting, organizing, packing and repacking gear and supplies. Once the pack is stuffed to the point that the stitching is about to burst, they’re ready to hit the trail. Then reality settles in—usually deep in the shoulders and back.

This pack weighs a TON!

Yeah, it probably does. But no problem. Cinch the waist strap, adjust the shoulder straps, clasp the sternum strap and things feel a bit better, right? Maybe for the first half-mile on the trail. After that one starts to question their equipment selection.

I guess I could’ve left the skillet at home.

Did I really need to bring the bomb-proof tent?

Are we there yet?

Of course, combining another activity with backpacking adds additional layers of gear complexity and weight. Extreme hunters and anglers know the score. Not only do they have to carry everything a trekker would in order to comfortably spend a night or two in the wilderness, they must accommodate extra gear and bulky clothing. The same goes for outdoor photographers who contend with the weight of a camera, lenses, tripod and other accouterments of the trade.

In short, backpack camping can be back-breaking, and the burden of carrying a pack full of gear can quickly eclipse the joy of the adventure itself.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way.

When Men Were Men (and so were the women!)

Consider for a moment our predecessors—the pioneers and explorers who struck out into the savage wilderness, often on foot or canoe, and never benefiting from the luxuries of a nylon tent, dehydrated meals, GPS, Goretex or any