"A staple for paddlers.... [The Packraft Handbook has] now become the bible for outdoor recreators taking their inflatable rafts into the backcountry." ― Anchorage Daily News 2021 National Outdoor Book Award Winner in Outdoor Adventure Guides 2022 Banff Mountain Book Competition Guidebook Winner Alaska-based author is a leading expert on wilderness travel Emphasis on skill progression and safety applies to wide range of outdoor water recreation Vibrant illustrations and photos inform and inspire The Packraft Handbook is a comprehensive guide to packrafting, with a strong emphasis on skill progression and safety. Readers will learn to maneuver through river features and open water, mitigate risk with trip planning and boat control, and how to react when things go wrong. Beginners will find everything they need to know to get started--from packraft care to proper paddling position as well as what to wear and how to communicate. Illustrated for visual learners and featuring stunning photography, The Packraft Handbook has something to offer all packrafters and other whitewater sports enthusiasts.

"The Packraft Handbook is a comprehensive guide to packrafting, with a strong emphasis on skill progression and safety. Readers will learn to maneuver through river features and open water, mitigate risk with trip planning and boat control, and react when things go wrong. Illustrated for visual learners and featuring stunning photography, The Packraft Handbook has something to offer all packrafters." -- Back cover

The Wilderness Paddler’s Handbook offers paddlers of any stripe Alan Kesselheim’s personal, engaging writing and his unsurpassed experience. Helpful sidebars, interspersed throughout the book, provide step-by-step instructions on all critical technical considerations. Everything a new or experienced paddler can expect to encounter is included, from trip planning, choosing the right gear, and packing, to camping, cooking, modifying your boat, and dealing with conditions on every kind of water. Whether it’s how to pick the right partner, negotiate a tricky rapid, go solo, or bring the entire family, it’s all here in this entertaining, inspiring, and informative guide. Alan Kesselheim has paddled thousands of wilderness miles – alone, with his wife, Marypat, and with his young children strapped into the canoe like babies in car seats. He’s paddled fast-moving rivers, windswept lakes, and quiet ponds. (One trip took him on a 13-month, 2000-mile journey from Grande Cache, Alberta, to Baker Lake in the Northwest Territories.) He’s also one of North America’s preeminent canoeing writers, and his hard-won opinions are highly respected.

Don’t Be Left Up a River… Without a PackraftPackrafts are lightweight, inflatable boats that can be carried in a backpack, on a bicycle or in a duffel bag. These compact, tough personal watercrafts are used to float rivers, run rapids, cross lakes, and even drop waterfalls, often as part of a broader wilderness expedition that includes backpacking. Packrafting is rapidly gaining in popularity, with increasingly varied options for gear, ranging by size, cost, and function. With the number of guided packrafting trips on the rise, this is the perfect book for the beginner interested in the up-and-coming sport.

"Packrafting! is about exploring wilderness and whitewater by packraft, a light-weight, portable boat. In this book, you'll learn about packrafting gear and technique, as well as the myriad applications for packrafting. Combine packrafting with mountaineering, backcountry skiing, mountain biking, or trekking to create your own wild adventures. Learn the techniques behind running both stillwater and whitewater in a packraft, opening up new possibilities for water travel from Canada's canoe country to vast Alaskan rivers to the steep creeks in your backyard"--Backcover.

CLICK HERE to download the first chapter from A Long Treak Home * Compelling adventure with an environmental focus * An informative natural and cultural history of one of our last wild coastlines * Author is a pioneer in "packrafting," an emerging trend in backcountry travel In June 2007, Erin McKittrick and her husband, Hig, embarked on a 4,000-mile expedition from Seattle to the Aleutian Islands, traveling solely by human power. This is the story of their unprecedented trek along the northwestern edge of the Pacific Ocean-a year-long journey through some of the most rugged terrain in the world- and their encounters with rain, wind, blizzards, bears, and their own emotional and spiritual demons. Erin and Hig set out from Seattle with a desire to raise awareness of natural resource and conservation issues along their route: clear-cut logging of rainforests; declining wild salmon populations; extraction of mineral resources; and effects of global climate change. By taking each mile step by step, they were able to intimately explore the coastal regions of Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska, see the wilderness in its larger context, and provide a unique on-the-ground perspective. An entertaining and, at times, thrilling adventure, theirs is a journey of discovery and of insights about the tiny communities that dot this wild coast, as well as the individuals there whom they meet and inspire.

Winner of the 2018 National Outdoor Book Award for Best Instructional Book! The Ultimate Guide to Whitewater Rafting and River Camping introduces new rafters to the skills, equipment, and knowledge required to mount a multiday whitewater rafting trip. Rafting equipment, skills, and techniques have changed drastically in recent years, and this book provides the latest information on equipment selection, care, repair, and use; whitewater rafting techniques; reading rivers; hazard evaluation and basic rescue; camping techniques; river cooking and living; and expedition planning. Written in a clear and comprehensive manner by outdoor educator and whitewater veteran Molly Absolon, The Ultimate Guide to Whitewater Rafting and River Camping is a great tool for novices and an excellent resource for experienced rafters.