Or are books too heavy to fool with on the trail?

I am too bookish to go without a book. One of my off-season tasks is searching out interesting paperbacks in a compact format that weigh about 6 oz. I tend to read for about an hour after going to bed each evening.

I have a marked preference for Penguin paperback editions, since they seem to have plenty of interesting titles, readable typefaces, and more pages per ounce than other mass market paperbacks.

Recently I bought a 1.5 oz 2GB "Zen Stone" MP3 player that has a small speaker I can listen to, since I hate earbuds. The battery lasts about 12 hours using the speaker on a low volume. This summer I will experiment with listening to books instead of reading them. If it works out, I can save about 1/4 lb!

I go to the used bookstore & pick a book based on size & weight. When I backpack where we have a fire the pages become firestarter or I have been known to pass a book piece by to piece to backpacking partners.

Yeah, I'm a reading addict too! I can do without but will spend time unraveling a garbage-juice soaked newspaper to read if that is an alternative. Our library has a "Friends of the Library" bookstore that has a huge selection of paperbacks. Prior to a trip I stop by and pick up my reading material. My tastes range from "sex and violence" thrillers to the more uplifting stuff such as the Tao Te Ching and Epictetus. What I take depends on my mood but I always have something with me to read.

No, I don't. My work requires a lot of professional reading, and my personal reading tastes run toward heavier non-fiction (Alan Greenspan's Age of Turbulence and Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse are recent examples.) Those don't really fit in to the more laid-back hiking trips I prefer. I actually don't mind spending an hour or two sitting on the bank of a creek watching the water, or just sitting in camp sipping water and eating trail mix while the world gets dark around me.

Sometimes, though, I'll take along a map of the next trip I want to take, and start doing some planning.

There was almost a 20 year break in my backpacking when I returned to the trail with my bride. On our first trip I carried more than five pounds of trail guides. "Oh yeah, now I remember why I didn't do that before..."

So I started taking a Reader's Digest. If I got bored with that I studied the owner's manual of my camera or something similar. Now I take an mp3 player (I too have the Diamond books but haven't got to them yet). Trouble is, the narrated fiction I have lulls me to sleep...I don't know how many stories I've started over 'cause I slept through the ending...

FB

Almost never leave home without a book. I try for a small paperback but have been know to take two . SciFi and Fantasy. I read enough heavy stuff for work I want entertainment on the trail. I even pack them back home too as I have been frequently know to reread books after a year or two.

I take a book. I do tons of professional reading and goo at work, but love to read, and don't associate professional reading with fun reading. I usually take a *small* paperback. but it depends on the trip. if I'm in my typical summer hiking mode I'll take a thin paperback that I can read a little bit of to fall asleep in my hammock at night, because I spend almost my entire day on the move, I still do like a "little bit" to read at night, but I might read a chapter or less.

In winter, or snowshoe weather. I take books. lots of big beefy read for hours books - because I know in winter I won't be moving all day, or even if I am the day is very short, so I spend a lot of time in camp. Doesn't mean I'll always spend it reading, but when it gets dark at 4 PM, It sure is nice to have a big read in a blizzard. I find it amazingly relaxing to just sit and read by candlelight, making the occasional cuppa tea, snuzzled in a pile of down when it's -25C and nasty outside my tent... But Maybe I'm weird

Cracked through the latest spider robinson on my most recent trip, but again, being on snow, and it only being travelable before mid afternoon, I was stopping early in the day.

aimless:


I don't have a video camera yet, but here's the script for the clip I'd post if I did:

Ultralight-hiker-type in the stacks at the local used bookstore. He's got a digital scale on the table and a stack of paperback books beside it.

(Note: I think I'd use my sailor neighbor two slips over from me for the part, my friend Max, age 90, although he's gone sailing over in the Bahamas <with his 60-year-old girlfriend.> Dressed in some zip-off pants and a self-wicking TNF t-shirt, he could easily pass for [b]MY hiking partner.)

The "hiker" takes a book from the stack and sets it on the scale. He looks at the readout and then at the book, disgustedly.

Max: "Hmmmm. 'War and Peace,' -- Tolstoy. Seven ounces. Crap!" he says in a chagrined voice as he pitches it aside.[/b]




There's a chance we might have been at the same backcountry campsite last year. You had the small speaker(s) in your tent and we were camped across the lake from you when I reached over and shook my wife in our tent and grumbled something about Moby to her. She said, "I don't hear Moby!"

I bolted upright in the mummy bag, banging my head on the ceiling/roof of our single-walled Tarptent, and shouted, "It ain't Moby, somebody's reciting Melville's "Moby Dick!"

I really like Moby -- great hiking music. I'm definitely bringing some Moby and my speaker(s) if I can swing that NW-Pacific group trip this year. Haven't put my name in yet, but figure I'll do like Horst Buccholtz did in The Magnificent Seven and tag along about a quarter-mile behind til Yul Brenner (or who<whom>ever) waves me into camp. Like Horst, hopefully I'll bring just-caught fish.

(Two days til we leave Miami for the mountains, 4 good.)

I know you were just ribbing me, but I feel the need to defend my honor.

You must understand, I am so fond of solitude and so phobic of camping near others that last summer I did not spend a single night in a place where I was within a 1/3 mile of another tent. About 80% of the time there wasn't a soul within 3 miles of my campsite.

+1.

Sometimes, the day's reading will easily heat water for meals in my Kelly Kettle. How's that for dual use?

Or......I just found an Iphone app that has 15 or so classics for a buck. I just started the Call of the Wild .

I always have books.
Now I'm "sold" to ebooks reader!
Batteries fully loaded, I can go for some evenings of reading (about 4000 pages). Of course not for weeks long trip in the backcountry without a computer in sight, but good for travelling, as it take one/one and a half hour on USB to be completely loaded.
Lighter than a paperback, and about the same size...

I've yet to bring a book on the trail, though at the end of the day when I'm sitting around camp, I sometimes wish I had a book. Maybe I'll start doing so this year, who knows. Chances are I'll bring a book, set up camp, see a place I want to go check out and my book will be negelcted, lol.

aimless:

Yeah, just kidding -- I'll do anything in a weak attempt at a joke.



I plan on doing the same thing when we get to Colorado, only I'll publish endless posts, pix and a book about it and ruin it for me.

Don't forget, those guys were doing that multiple times. because when they got over the pass there some guy in a mountie suit:



Would not let them onto the trail in Canada without a *TON* of goods to support themselves...

And to think we bitch about bear canisters....

Am bibliophile. Must have books.

Just got a sony digital reader. Taking it with me to Aussie next month. After that I'll see about taking it on the trail.

I take a few magazines, or sudoku/crossword paperbacks. Some come in a nice small size. During the colder months and the days are short, it gets pretty boring inside a tent with nothing much to do.

Okay, I’m psyching myself up to reveal my nerdiness. I take the newest Campmor catalog and memorize it before hitting the sack.

I do wish for a campmor style catalog that just listed all our cottage industry friends’ products.

-Barry

Barry... that's a great idea! Get on it!

OK, I'm the anit-intellect! Most often I do not take a book. When I do, I seldom finish it because I am just too busy exploring and photographing. If I take a book it has to be under 6 oz. And there is nothing worse than carrying the extra weight of a book, only to have it turn out to be a bad book. In the evening in the tent, I write about the day and study my maps to get a good feel for the next day's travel. I am also a person that has no trouble going to sleep at 7PM and getting 10-12 hours sleep!

I've gotten into the habit of getting audio-books & take an IPod Classic w me w the recorded audio-books, that way I only have the very low weight of the IPod (I think 7 oz?), but I have a number of audio book options as well as different recordings (music, meditation recordings,etc.) so whatever mood I'm in to listen to presentations on different subjects I have that option! The battery life of the IPod Classic is 30 hours - so I've yet to run out of battery life on any of my trips!

I'm a little surprised youse guyz aren't all carrying one of these:

Dual use, baby!

Cheers,

I like bringing a lightweight book. Nothing too scary though! Usually something outdoor related.

With War and Peace, why would anyone want to take the whole book for one trip? It's not exactly fast reading, even for a speed reader like me.

For backpacking trips, I sliced up an old ratty pocket edition Bible and carry the section I'm reading in a sandwich bag. Generally only about 1/2 ounce. There's nothing wrong with slicing up a Bible or any other book into sections. The Bible is quite slow reading so is perfect for this purpose.

When traveling, I generally took along a novel in French, since my reading speed in French is a fraction of what it is in English. For a three month's trip, something like Dumas' "Les Trois Mousquetaires" (Three Musketeers) was perfect--I didn't get to the end until almost the end of the flight home from Europe!

Weird, I do exactly the same, usually take books in english, not that I'm slower, but because I tend to read for shorter periods (I would devour a whole book in one session...)...And when travelling english books are easy to swap, too! Even the books I have downloaded in my ereader are mostly in english...

I usually bring a conan novel, or some mark twain. I dont think I could cut up a bible though.

Old paperback books are not too heavy--if you use the recently read pages as your fuel source. This soon-to-be-available ultralight KK (about 6 oz.) can be fueled by paper.


http://www.theboilerwerks.com/2010/05/rainy-day-hot-tea/

Here is a follow-on to my remarks upthread about experimenting with taking audio books on a tiny MP3 player with an external speaker. I found that it didn't work as well as I wished and I am back to regular old paperbacks in the 4 oz to 6 oz range.

The problem was that if my attention strayed for more than an instant, I would miss some words, and I never felt right about these lacunae. Rewinding was possible, but a pain, compared to just glancing a bit higher on the page.

I would guess that an MP3 player would work much better for listening to radio-type material, where a brief lapse of attention is less critical than with literature.

I always take at least one book.

Some here don't like to hear it, but backpacking is about more than just the weight of your pack. An extra pound or two of highly prized items more than make up for a bit of extra effort on the trail.

Blasphemy!!!!! Don't you know that children could be reading this???? Repent now and you will be forgiven.

Heck I often take *two* books. and yes paperbacks are heavy, and sure, I could shred them but bah..

I keep threatening to buy a kindle because that would be lighter but I'm worried I would kill it on the trail.

I talked to my pastor about slicing up the old Bible (the binding was already defunct) before I did the slicing. He thought that it was a wonderful idea. He said he really hates going to someone's home and seeing a Bible on the coffee table that has obviously never been used. A Bible is meant to have notes taken in it, to be dog-eared, to have a raggedy binding, even to be sliced up so you can take it on a backpacking trip! It's not the physical book that's sacred but the Word in it!

My Wife takes 1-2 books on every trip. I take fishing equipment.

Cutting up a Conan novel -- at least a Robert E. Howard original -- is at least as sacrilege!

scghsgfhs hg

Sorry, Jim, but is that book written in Pig Latin?

BF

Definitely! They are heavy. I guess I probably go without, more than I bring them with, but man it is a cool luxery, especially when solo.

When I don't take something to read, I want something to read. When I bring something to read, I don't even take it out of the pack. I wish I had an answer to this. It does little more than cause frustration. I've even tried taking a very small notebook and pencil, so I could do some writing. Same deal. I want it when it isn't there, and I don't care that I have it when it is.

Yep, I hear ya. For many years I carried a book that I never read. Then I converted to hammock. Now I take the first good camp site so I can lay in my hammock and read.

For those of us who like to read and do it frequently, I find that the peace and quiet of the outdoors is ideal for reading in camp, before or after supper. I can read with closer attention and with less effort. I follow the line of narrative or reasoning more easily, and I retain more. And any time I want to stop a moment and reflect, my eyes can rest on a scene of contemplative beauty.

It's the bee's knees.

I would love for them to bring back mini books like were shipped overseas in WWII! Talk about ultra light.

I don't often bring a book, since my itinerary doesn't often call for much rest. But if I'm planning on staying in an area for a few days relaxing, then definitely. I love reading about evolution when I'm camping since I can witness it occurring all around me.

Yes, I definitely carry some form of reading material. It is usually magazines and/or light paperback books as well as maps. I have yet to see it as much of a space-taker or weight issue.

Right on. Plus, with a trip to alaska this summer, I could read well into the "night" if I chose - or "early in the morning". Kinda nice never needing a flashlight and being able to lounge in a hammock (the bug netting also added to the awesome factor) and read to my heart's content.

No, for the following reasons:

1. I spend too much time trying to lighten up the pack.

2. I'm out playing during the daylight hours.

3. A good fire and letting the mind run are all the evening entertainment I need. (I'm usually out doing solos)

4. Hard to read while doing your business in the woods!

I know what you mean, gregphoto. I'm the same, only different -- I like reading about Creation since I can witness it occurring all around me. (Not starting a fight, just poking ya a bit!)

I actually usually take a book about spirituality or something like that with me. I have also been known to take a Louis L'Amour western with me as well. But I almost always do take a book.

Interestingly I've actually *changed* what I do on hikes this year.

I do like to read at night in my hammock.

I took a paperback book on one trip this year, my first one in Tasmania in january. Since then I have ended up with kindle for iPhone on my iPhone - and started getting books for that to read on the plane. After figuring out my phone's battery would last a relatively long time in "airplane mode" with all the reception turned off, I have actually been taking my iPhone with the kindle software and a bunch of books on it instead of my traditional paperback novel. the Iphone has other uses, like being a backup camera when I've done something stupid with my camera batteries (like flattening them or forgetting the extra) which it has done yeoman's service on two of my trips this year, so I'm kind of ok with it. the phone is lighter than a paperback and does have some multi use properties (although I can't tear pages out of it to light fires or wipe my butt )

Typically before a trip I will head down to the local library and pick up a paperback. Only problem is that I typically don't reserve the books in advance and have ended up with fairly uninspiring fiction....

Anyway, usually a sci fi or fantasy paperback along with a very tiny 'gideon' size bible. Nothing like sitting down for a break on the trail and have a very angry squirrel bark at you for 30 minutes.

I usually get a paper back from the used book store and cut the spine to take just the number of pages I think i'll have time to read. Pages I've read become tinder. Or the time I had 2 days of the "Trots" the extra "TP" was greatly appreciated!

I cannot bring myself to treat a book that way... even a cheap, used one. Every book has a story to tell, a lesson to teach. Some teach it well, while others do not. Some bring positive lessons (do this), while others bring negative ones (Do not do this). But all have something to say, or else the author would not have taken the time to put pen to paper.

If I were in an emergency situation, I would try to use other things as tender or TP before using the pages of a book.

But then, I am an unabashed bibliophile.