Picked up the book Nessmuk

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

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Picked up Nessmuk, and while the writing was certainly entertaining (not dated at all surprisingly), and he had some interesting diagrams, I didn't really find any step by step instructions. Just basically a mans point of view that the whole point of going to the woods is to leave civilazation behind. Enjoyment through simplicity, something that is lacking in this world. I am interested in picking up his other books. The book that I picked up is only a hundred pages long, informative. I can see his popularity as a story teller, but I would like to know why he is so highly praised. Please tell me what I am missing, I am very interested to know more about him. (Saw nothing about why he took the name Nessmuk either).

I also realize that he wrote articles for Field and Stream in the late 19th century.
 
Well, he wrote about his outdoor adventures. Its filled with humor, and the beginnings of environmentalism.

I think he is praised because of the prolific nature of his trips. And his pioneering of the ultralight canoe. And because he chronicled all of it.
 
Yeah Silent, like you say the stuff is not in depth.

What I like about the book is more the overall philosophy and humor. Also kind of gives you a picture of life at the beginning of the industrial age and the ending of the frontier days. You know manufacturing is coming in, and the railroads, but still people are homesteading the wilderness and the indians are still around in the woods albeit beginning to be absorbed into the overall culture.

Not sure why he is so highly praised other than a combination of easy to read writing style and "internet buzz"
 
What you're missing is that George Sears was one of the first to practice the minimalist approach to nature, and getting out in it. Like the Sierra Club that came later, Sears went lightly on the land, and expressed the belief that to fully appreatiate nature you must leave civilization behind. He would roll over in his grave like a rotisere if he could see modern "campgrounds" with power hookups for the Winabagos and such. It was the philosophy in his books that he is known for, not to mention his woodman skills with just a pocket knife, butcher knife, and small hatchet, a simple tarp shelter and lightweight canoe. With a minimum of gear he could live for long periods in the wilderness.

The true treasure in his writings are between the lines.
 
One good point the book makes is the hatchet and thin knife combo.

I think the small hatchet and thin bladed knife concept makes more sense than the big knife.
 
hollowdweller said:
One good point the book makes is the hatchet and thin knife combo.

I think the small hatchet and thin bladed knife concept makes more sense than the big knife.
Click to expand...

Indeed...But, don't tell the sharpened prybar crowd :)

It just boils down to the right tool for the right job. Sometimes that means carrying more than one tool. Or compromising yourself into one tool that does it all, but doing it all poorly
The nessmuk philosophy, with the advances in metalurgy (in regards to knives in particular), and camping in general, can be argued to be even more valid today than when he wrote it...
 
I think that when camping/ hiking with a partner, having one carry a machete/khukri, and the other a small axe/hatchet, can make a lot of sense. If it is just me, I find more utility with a small axe, but if building say, a pine bough shelter, a khukri or similar can be more efficient...
 
One thing I've noted, by the way, in my experiments with batoning (the way to use a small knife to cut medium-to-large pieces of wood): there are definite situational limitations to when you can do that. Say, for example, there's a 2-inch branch up in a tree that's just right for the application you intend--for example, a bow stave (which you DON'T want to split too much)--but you've got to climb to it, and hold on with at least one hand and a leg or two to keep from falling. Not too easy to baton the knife through the branch, or to do the "bend-the-branch-and-rock-the-small-knife-blade-through-it" trick. Not to say that batoning and small knives aren't great--but there are times when one really does like having a larger chopping implement, and/or a saw.
 
hollowdweller said:
What I like about the book is more the overall philosophy and humor. Also kind of gives you a picture of life at the beginning of the industrial age and the ending of the frontier days.
Not sure why he is so highly praised other than a combination of easy to read writing style and "internet buzz"
Click to expand...

Thats what I find very appealing. He had a funny/witty way of writing that isn't done anymore.
 
jackknife said:
What you're missing is that George Sears was one of the first to practice the minimalist approach to nature, and getting out in it. Like the Sierra Club that came later, Sears went lightly on the land, and expressed the belief that to fully appreatiate nature you must leave civilization behind. He would roll over in his grave like a rotisere if he could see modern "campgrounds" with power hookups for the Winabagos and such. It was the philosophy in his books that he is known for, not to mention his woodman skills with just a pocket knife, butcher knife, and small hatchet, a simple tarp shelter and lightweight canoe. With a minimum of gear he could live for long periods in the wilderness.

The true treasure in his writings are between the lines.
Click to expand...

I understood the simplicity part, I appreciate his writing style and his tales, but I just wanted to know why he is so revered. Perhaps I should take a more holistic approach to the book.

Just basically a mans point of view that the whole point of going to the woods is to leave civilazation behind. Enjoyment through simplicity, something that is lacking in this world. I am interested in picking up his other books.
Click to expand...
 
He is revered for what he did, he went out in the woods alone with minimal gear for great lengths of time and wrote very nice stories about it.
I wouldn't say he is more revered then say Dick Proenneke who did some amazing stuff, though Proenneke wasn't as philosophical and wrote more a day to day diary of his events.
Its simply that people have a deep rooted desire to do the same thing as these men, and the reaqlity is many of us have to do it vicariously.
 
I like Nessmuk's philosophy his early emphesis on "going light" was cutting edge for his day. I'm not a total fan of some of his life choices or attitudes, but his writings are some of the best outdoors stuff even today!
 
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