Firwood Campground, Sequoia National Park

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Heading Out: American Camping Since 1869

What does it mean that for generations, millions of Americans annually have packed up their gear and their families, left behind their comfortable, convenience-filled homes, and camped in nature for a few weeks? Why have they voluntarily and happily been willing to “rough it” in America’s parks and forests? Heading Out: American Camping Since 1869 weaves several historical and geographical threads – cities and nature, pilgrimage and identity, ruggedness and comfort – to produce a tapestry of this popular leisure activity. Campers obviously find camping a pleasant retreat, but the book argues that it also means they are unhappy with their everyday lives. Targeting the outdoor enthusiasts whose eagerness, passion, skill and determination have shaped camping, readers move from the mad rush that occurred at camping’s Adirondack outset to the multi-decade, epic effort to weld together a 2,000-mile Pacific Crest Trail for backpackers.

The first in-depth history of camping, Heading Out is aimed at both a general audience and at scholars. It reveals a profound relationship between camping, urban life and idealism, and it argues that campers deeply believe in the redemptive and restorative power of nature. With profiles of some of the most significant campers in US history – from William Henry Harrison Murray, the New England minister who launched camping, through Emilio P. Meinecke, the inventor of the automobile campground and William J. Trent, Jr., the Interior Department official who fought racial segregation in national parks, to Bob Marshall, a backpacker who helped found the Wilderness Society – this book offers a lively and thoughtful examination of the interplay between nature, culture and the American camper.

© 2007 by Terence Young
tgyoung@csupomona.edu
This website includes official class materials for courses taught at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, by Terence Young.  They are subject to change without notice to anyone but students currently enrolled in the class.

8/31/07