Another resource archive... BP'er mag

Codger_64

Codger_64

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I know that response here to Backpacker magazine is widly varied from love to hate, but I found the magazine archived online beginning with issue number 1 vol. 1 in Spring of 1973. If nothing else, it gives a good nostalic look at the olden days for us Codgers and a laugh for those who would like to see what backpackers carried before they were born.

http://books.google.com/books/serial/ISSN:0277867X?rview=1&source=gbs_navlinks_s
 
Nice! I've been subscribing to BP on and off for nearly 20 years.

Thanks for the link, Codger!
 
Cool, I'll definitely check that out. Thanks, Codger. Gotta love the interwebs..
 
sicily02 said:
Thanks Codger I was just 4 years old lol.

Bryan
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I had been into backpacking for a couple of years when that first edition came out. While I had been a Boy Scout, camper and hunter as a kid, I was introduced to backpacking as a sport when I took a gravy course my second year in college, "Geomorphology of the Southern Appalachians", a class culminating in a two week BP trip on the Ap Trail, led and taught by Professor Vossberg. In spite of the Prof's attempts to teach us proper gear and loading, we hauled all manner of questionable junk in our questionable packs. However, being young and bulletproof, blisters were the worst consequences we endured.

The magazine itself began as subscription only, so I never saw a copy in the early days. It is interesting to me to look back on the evolution of the sport, the equipment, and the outdoor ethics espoused then as compared to now, 40 years (+/-) later. I am always on the lookout for good reading material and it looks like I have found a place to spend a lot of down time this winter.

Check out the survival article by Tom Brown, Oct. 1992, page 42.
 
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Looking at the first issue page four they had a commentary on why they started the magazine:

They were to target existing backpackers to tell them how to keep the wilderness pristine and to do their best to NOT promote backpacking to the rest of the populous so they could keep their secret wilderness pristine.

Hmmm. I guess they failed on the second half.
 
HornyToad said:
Looking at the first issue page four they had a commentary on why they started the magazine:

They were to target existing backpackers to tell them how to keep the wilderness pristine and to do their best to NOT promote backpacking to the rest of the populous so they could keep their secret wilderness pristine.

Hmmm. I guess they failed on the second half.
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Yes, as I said, outdoor philosophy and ethics have evolved. There is also an article on the changes in BSA teaching, particularly regarding the possession and use of hatchets and knives in the outdoors. It is only natural that the magazine has evolved in it's philosophy and goals. I note also the critique letters also where people have written regarding their intent (as stated in a pre publication survey pamphlet) to "ignore" hunting as a viable outdoor wilderness experience, and their reply.
 
Looking at some of the letters sent in for the first issue sure had some "interesting" thoughts about the magazine.
 
I read the Brown article and noted with interest the use of grapevines as a water source. Never heard nor thought of that. Where I grew up in New Hampshire, we regularly harvested the wild Concord grapes that florished on our land.
 
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