What More Delightful Avocation Than To Take

For One Species To Mourn The Death Of Another Is A New Thing Under The Sun.

Land Health Is The Capacity For Self-renewal In The Soils, Waters, Plants, And Animals That Collectively Comprise The Land.

Then Came The Gadgeteer, Otherwise Known As The Sporting-goods Dealer. He Has Draped The American Outdoorsman With An Infinity Of Contraptions, All Offered As Aids To Self-reliance, Hardihood, Woodcraft, Or Marksmanship, But Too Often Functioning As Substitutes For Them. Gadgets Fill The Pockets, They Dangle From Neck And Belt. The Overflow Fills The Auto-trunk And Also The Trailer. Each Item Of Outdoor Equipment Grows Lighter And Often Better, But The Aggregate Poundage Becomes Tonnage.

The Elemental Simplicities Of Wilderness Travel Were Thrills. They Represented Complete Freedom To Make Mistakes. The Wilderness Gave Those Rewards And Penalties, For Wise And Foolish Acts Against Which Civilization Has Built A Thousand Buffers.

I Confess My Own Leisure To Be Spent Entirely In Search Of Adventure, Without Regard To Prudence, Profit, Self Improvement, Learning, Or Any Other Serious Thing.