Additional information
by Erik Shonstrom (Author)
The author once fell backwards, on skis, at night, into a latrine during a snowstorm in the Rocky Mountains. That's just one of the stories in this 20-year tale of wilderness education.
This book aims to entertain and edify, captivate and compel. It's also laugh-out-loud funny, with echoes of Patrick F. McManus and Bill Heavey.
Combining anecdotes of over two decades of outdoor education experience with thoughtful narrative context, the author offers tales of adventure that both experienced mountain guides and armchair enthusiasts can dig into with abandon. From the swampy backcountry of Florida to the soaring Sierra; the chilly gray waters of Puget sound to rocky scrambles in the Green Mountains, this book takes the reader on a hilarious journey through epic landscapes guided by a hapless outdoor teacher.
No matter how suburban or urban our upbringing, we've all experienced the fear of strange noises in the night, inedible food cooked outdoors, and surviving when the nearest flush toilet is miles away. We can all relate to the mishaps and exploits experienced in the great wide world.
Author Biography
Erik Shonstrom is the author of Wild Curiosity, The Indoor Epidemic, and The Wisdom of the Body (all published by R&L). He has worked in education for over two decades. He has taught students while clinging to cliffs in Joshua Tree National Park; swimming frigid rivers in the High Sierra; snorkeling jellyfish infested waters off Mexico; paddling tippy kayaks amid the orcas of Puget Sound; trudging up narrow trails in the Adirondacks; and, occasionally, in the classroom. He has worked for charter, independent, public, and experiential education-based schools. Currently, Erik is a professor of interdisciplinary studies at Champlain College. He has published a number of articles on education, learning, and the outdoors, as well as lectured on topics ranging from curiosity to the connection between reading novels and imagination.
He lives in South Burlington, Vermont.
