The Complete Hiker, Revised and Expanded

John Long (Venice, California) is an explorer, legendary rock climber, and best-selling author whose novella Rogue's Babylon was recast into the film Cliffhanger, starring Sylvester Stallone. His current literary fiction has appeared in everything from Granta to Reader's Digest. His rock climbing feats in the 1970s and 1980s earned him a reputation for boldness and innovation. In December 1998 he was the focus on a lengthy feature article in Climbing magazine. The article, quoting Michael Chesler of Chesler Books, noted that "Long has realized--as Conrad, London, and Hemingway before him,--that adventure literature is best written with a proper mix of real experiences and imaginary ones." His award-winning stories have been widely anthologized, and more than 750,000 copies of his instructional books are in print and have been translated into many languages.



Michael Hodgson (San Jose, California) is one of America's best-known experts on outdoor recreation and wilderness skills. A former technical editor for Outdoor Retailer magazine, and technical editor for Adventure West magazine, he is author of eight previous books, including The Outdoor Family Fun Guide (RMP, 1998). His equipment reviews are featured on his popular website "Michael Hodgson's Adventure Network" (www.adventurenetwork.com) and on Fogdog Sport (www.fogdog.com). His writing has also been featured in print in such magazines as Outside, and Backpacker. The Minneapolis Tribune noted that his facing the Extreme (with Ruth Anne Kocour) "deserves a place high on the list of books about mountaineering."