This venerable book has been around just about as long as the Whole Earth Catalogs, and like them, has been updated from time to time in order to keep current. The III version is a genuine revised edition; the editors claim it’s 75 percent new. The latest in techno-twitics are considered in detail after being subjected to Mr. Fletcher’s traditional field testing. Material he has found worthy over the years remains intact, complete with a laconic humor sorely missing from most Deadly Serious Hiker writing. Usefulness is aided by a remarkable cross-referencing in the text that makes the overall logic of the author’s trail philosophy seem irrefutable without being dogmatic. It’s a good way to do a book of this sort; after 16 years, it’s still the best around.
