The Outdoor Leaders Handbook

My name is Dennis Barrett. As a founding member of the Wilderness Monks, I have been going on extended wilderness backpacking and canoeing trips for over twenty years. I am writing this review to (hopefully) help identify the readers who will most benefit from this book. This is not a book about advanced wilderness skills. Army Rangers and veteran wilderness travelers will not be impressed. I believe it is an excellent book for people who are going out into the woods as a group, and traveling with a lot of equipment, in relative luxury. It would be very useful to parents who are introducing the family to camping in established campgrounds, or in non-wilderness forest settings. It is focused on canoeing, but is certainly relevant to car camping, horse packing and short distance backpacking in non-wilderness environments. There is a lot of advice on preparing large group meals and outdoor recipes. There is also good, if basic info on canoeing technique, whitewater rescue, weather forecasting, etc. The emphasis really is on taking a group of inexperienced people out into the woods and looking after their comfort and safety. I don't mean to knock the book. It is well written, and has some very good illustrations and useful information. But I am puzzled by the editorial statement that it could be a textbook for guides. There is very little information about group dynamics or conflict resolution, or outdoor emergencies. The skills represented are certainly useful, but not of a level required of a professional guide. It addresses the topic of leadership in a very limited way. I am sure that Mr. Gilpatrick is a very knowledgeable fellow. The state of Maine doesn't just hand out guide licenses. I just wish he had been a bit more forthcoming with advanced material, given the title. In terms of the appropriate audience, I would not want novice outdoorsmen to pass it up because they thought it was too advanced for them. Neither would I want to see veteran wilderness travelers be disappointed by its relatively basic content.