All of the thrills with none of the spills.

Praise for Kevin Callan's The Happy Camper:
"Comprehensive, easy-to-read... [Cal/an] displays the assurance and economy of a true woodsman, and applies humor as well."
- San Francisco Chronicle

This colorfully illustrated, highly entertaining, truly informative sequel to The Happy Camper looks at why people love the wilderness and how everyone from rugged canoe-trippers to family car-campers can derive more enjoyment from their time outdoors.

This is the perfect book for those who love camping except for "that one part" (which may be packing, portaging, bugs, bad weather, second-rate food, sleeping bags, rocks, uphill hikes, downhill tumbles, tippy canoes, life without a toilet or, let's face it, other campers). With his trademark mix of comic timing and expertise, veteran guide Kevin Callan reveals the secrets to smooth paddling and pleasure-filled camping.

Topics include:

• Choosing and planning the right trip
• Camping companion harmony
• Best camping equipment, gadgets and clothing
• Sleeping softly on hard ground
• Traveling light but eating well
• Bush martinis and other wilderness spirits
• Close encounters of the wildlife kind
• Campside saunas, skinny-dipping, and how to make love in a canoe.

Kevin Callan is the author of over 15 books, including his incredibly popular series of paddling guides. He has been a key speaker at major outdoor events for over 25 years in Canada, the U.S. and the UK. He is a regular contributor and columnist for Explore and CanoeRoots Magazine, is listed as one of the top 100 modern-day explorers by the Canadian Geographical Society, is a recipient of a National Magazine Award and is a Patron Paddler for Paddle Canada. He is a recurring guest on nationally broadcast television and radio programs and maintains his own very popular "Happy Camper" YouTube channel, drawing thousands of viewers.

Kevin Callan's profile page

[Callan] likes canoeing and he likes camping, and he's put together a helpful book of advice that will benefit anyone who wants to spend time outdoors.... His tips on what to pack and what's worth investing in are excellent, and the recipes for camp cooking alone are worth the price of the book.... Novice or veteran traveller in the bush, you can benefit from Callan's helpful and practical advice.

Chronicle-Journal (Thunder Bay)

The latest book from one of Explore's contributing editors shows there's much more to camping than just baked beans and bug bites.

Explore (Toronto)

New to camping and need a little advice? Author Kevin Callan, veteran wilderness guide, provides good-humored tips and information that will make the camping experience more enjoyable.

Women in the Outdoors, National Wild Turkey Federation

Wilderness Pleasures is a practical and humorous guide to spending pleasurable time in the outdoors... Callan mixes comic tales with expertise, revealing the secrets to camping companion harmony, how to sleep softly on the ground, bush martinis and last, but certainly not least, how to make love in a canoe (apparently there are six steps)...lt's all packaged in a colourful picture-packed 238-page paperback, which makes for an entertaining read.

The Calgary Herald

Kevin Callan walks a fine line between the must-be-miserable-in-the-wilderness crowd and those that love their guilty pleasures.... He wants readers to have the experience while still feeling comfortable, and for the most part he manages to walk the line.

Washington Herald

Most how-to books lack a sense of humor....That isn't the case with this slightly whacked book offering all sorts of information on camping...Some great little sidebars add to the fun... All of these little touches, coupled with good color photography and the author's great sense of humor, make this book a step above the average how-to guide.

The Salt Lake Tribune

Don't let the word "wilderness" intimidate you. Letting go of the refuge of your car is easier than you think and to help you along is a new book by Kevin Callan.... Wilderness Camping: A Practical Guide to Camping Bliss will ease your mind and convince even lifelong car campers to give wilderness camping a try.... Callan is known for his light-hearted writing style...and while misadventures add an element of humour to the book, they also serve to instruct us on what to do.... Although Callan has an obvious love of the outdoors that comes through in his writing, the over 130 colour photographs depict the enjoyment of wilderness camping better than any written description could.... Wilderness Pleasures is a camping resource you don't want to be without.... Even if you're not ready to give up car camping just yet, the tips and techniques in Wilderness Pleasures will add to your camping enjoyment... "It's my favourite book and I had a blast writing it," say Callan, who has an enthusiasm for wilderness camping that experienced campers can relate to and [that] novice campers will find contagious. For yourself or any camper you know, Wilderness Pleasures provides a humorous look at what keeps campers coming back.

The Muskoka Sun

Callan's newest book does not disappoint. It is funny, informative and makes for good reading if you are a camper who aspires to leave the car behind... "Wilderness Pleasures' has tips for experienced trippers, but is most geared for introductory and intermediate wilderness campers. It is more discussion than dissertation, more playful than profound.... Outdoor prudes may want a little fan to cool themselves. Most others will find Callan's humor and expertise a true pleasure to read.

Grand Rapids Press

The perfect book for those who want the thrills with none of the spills. Delivered in his trademark good-humored style, Callan gives novice campers all the information they need to make their first camping experience one that will make them want to do it again. More experienced outdoor types will be reminded of why they go "out there" in the first place.

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