Inside you'll find everything the beginning climber needs to know about toproping: basic and advanced anchor set-ups, belay techniques, lowering from fixed anchors and more.

The author describes his spring 1996 trek to Mt. Everest, a disastrous expedition that claimed the lives of eight climbers, and explains why he survived

See the best of Washington with this streamlined walking guide, complete with step-by-step itineraries and maps to help you explore the city like a pro and navigate like a local. Created in a handy, take-along format, this guide is written by a seasoned travel writer to help conjure the spirit of the place in elegant text enhanced by National Geographic's famous eye for good pictures. More than just a guidebook, Walking Washington, D.C., is full of information about the city and its people.

Lightweight backpacking is safer, more comfortable, less expensive, and more fun than conventional/heavy backpacking. This engaging, colorful book demonstrates how and why. It is written by Andrew Skurka, the charismatic adventure athlete who has defined the light-and-fast style of backcountry travel and who was described by National Geographic Adventure as a "Gen Y version of Henry David Thoreau or John Muir." Skurka is a sponsored athlete, paid speaker, and writer who has created his own platform and is making a living doing it. He gives dozens of lectures a year, maintains a website and facebook page, and has thousands of followers. The guide begins with a big-picture discussion about lightweight backpacking: why go light, core principals, steps to lighten up, etc. A show-and-tell of lightweight gear follows, including an assortment of packs, shelters, stoves, clothing, and more. The author's personal vignettes are sprinkled throughout the book, making this is an intimate, inspiring, educational tome that might very well be worth reading for the stories alone. For years, hikers have turned to Colin Fletcher's bestselling classic The Complete Walker for sage hiking advice (dubbed the "Hiker's Bible" by Field & Stream). That book is now long outdated (last pubbed in 2002), and Skurka's guide is poised to take its place. There's nothing else out there on walking that's as all-inclusive or reliable.

Gathers practical advice, timesaving tips, and problem solving techniques ranging from planning and packing to field repairs and emergency improvisation

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and she would do it alone. Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

A cultural commentator and author of such works as Sex Collectors and The Food Chain evaluates walking from a range of disciplines to consider how the activity has inspired sporting events, mystical revelations, and artistic legacies. 17,500 first printing.

From the authors of Barefoot Running, the essential guide to the life-changing benefits of barefoot walking As the thousands of people who have fallen in love with barefoot running already know, shedding your shoes is good for the body and the soul. Barefoot Walking shows all readers, no matter their fitness level, how to take command of their physical and spiritual well-being through this simple and easy practice, even if they are daunted by sore feet, achy joints, injury, illness, or feeling out of shape. This book contains special material for children, pregnant women, and seniors, and shows anyone how this gentle, natural activity can literally transform one's life, restoring health, vitality, strength, and balance, and improving focus, mood, memory, and more. Full of tips and tools for going bare, this is the essential handbook for people who want to move their body, connect with the earth, and feel physically and psychologically more alive.