The Wilderness Idiot: Lessons from an Accidental Adventurer

by Ted Alvarez

Overview

The path to an adventurous life seems straightforward: Crush at an outdoor sport; amass a legion of followers who drool at your hero shots on Instagram; host TED talks exhorting people to live their best life, brah.

But there is another way: the way of the Wilderness Idiot. Author Ted Alvarez built a career and an outdoor lifestyle by simply not being smart enough to say no to things that will probably kill him, or at least embarrass him severely. From nearly drowning in pro kayak races to hallucinating on solo trips across bear-and-bug-infested wildernesses, his work exists to show that the outsider Everywoman and -man can have the spotlight.

In a series of hilarious and insightful essays, Alvarez shows that you don’t need to shred sick lines to find adventure—you just have to embrace the blank spots beyond your comfort zone. That way lies self-knowledge, soul-quieting confidence, and the soul of wilderness. More than most, Alvarez knows outsiders belong outside—and he wants to welcome them into the tribe.

The Wilderness Idiot airlifts readers to the world’s most remote places (in reality and in the mind) and make them feel so at home they’ll start dreaming about adventures of their own.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493043040
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/19/2019
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Ted Alvarez is BACKPACKER magazine’s Northwest Editor and was a National Magazine Award finalist in 2014. Whether chasing grizzly bears in the North Cascades, fording an icy Alaska river, or drinking his own urine in the desert, he regularly goes to extreme lengths in pursuit of a good story. He lives in Seattle, Washington, where he survives on heroic doses of strong coffee.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Chapter 1 Lord of the Ring Road 1

Chapter 2 Wild Gym 11

Chapter 3 Paths of Most Resistance 21

Chapter 4 So Good It Hurts 29

Chapter 5 Mount Rainier Was Robbed 39

Chapter 6 Mom's Big Adventure 41

Chapter 7 To Eat a Rat 55

Chapter 8 Spoiler Alert 69

Chapter 9 Camping in Murdaland 73

Chapter 10 I Am the Firestarter 89

Chapter 11 Hai Country 93

Chapter 12 In Praise of the Winter Siege 105

Chapter 13 Make Hiking Great Again 109

Chapter 14 Pleasure Islands 113

Chapter 15 Lava Land 121

Chapter 16 A Tale of Two Bears 129

Chapter 17 The Man at the End of the World 135

Chapter 18 Guinea Pigs of Denali 153

Chapter 19 The Last Grizz 161

Chapter 20 The Madding Crowd 173

Chapter 21 Cougar Town 177

Chapter 22 The Night's King 181

Chapter 23 Leader of the Pack 185

Chapter 24 Underground Wonder 189

About the Author 203

Editorial Reviews

11/04/2019

“I like to think I say yes to dumb things and then make smart decisions once I’m there,” Backpacker magazine Northwest editor Alvarez writes in this terrific memoir of some of his many outdoor adventures. A gifted writer with a wry sense of humor (“I get paid literally tens of dollars a year to visit unbelievable places and meet unbelievable people”), Alvarez recounts each Backpacker assignment he’s undertaken, whether it’s attempting a “mountain man workout” in the Colorado Rockies or hiking a 45-mile trail through some of Japan’s highest mountain peaks, with enthusiasm and aplomb. Though an outspoken advocate for the wild, Alvarez doesn’t sugarcoat its downside. He suffers through a “pigpen-thick cloud of mosquitoes” in British Columbia, chokes down grilled field mice when the fish aren’t biting, and wades through the “roiling chocolate milk” of Thorofare River in Alaska’s Denali National Park while large stones pelt his ankles. Despite the hardships, Alvarez remains upbeat, and his open-minded, non-purist philosophy about enjoying the outdoors—“I’ve never enjoyed a secret spot alone quite as much as when I bring someone else”—makes him that much more relatable. Even readers who’ve never set foot on a trail or baited a line will find Alvarez’s winning account of adventure inspiring and entertaining. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly