Many of those same tips and general DIY attitude you just mentioned were popularized by Ray Jardine in the early-to-mid 1990s.I learned much from his books of that era. But if you go look him up and read his books, don't believe what he says about corn pasta, OK?

The godfather of US backpacking advice back in the late 1960s, Colin Fletcher, in his seminal book The Complete Walker, notoriously confessed he tore the paper tags off his tea bags as a way to emphasize the correct attitude toward packing unnecessary weight. He knew people would laugh, but he thought the lesson he was teaching was more important.

This site is also a good place to learn such ideas. Most of the members here have decades of experience in all kinds of terrains and climates. In the USA and beyond.