The Wilderness Idiot

November 4, 2019
“I like to think I say yes to dumb things and then make smart decisions once I’m there,” Backpacker magazine Northwest editor Alvarez writes in this terrific memoir of some of his many outdoor adventures. A gifted writer with a wry sense of humor (“I get paid literally tens of dollars a year to visit unbelievable places and meet unbelievable people”), Alvarez recounts each Backpacker assignment he’s undertaken, whether it’s attempting a “mountain man workout” in the Colorado Rockies or hiking a 45-mile trail through some of Japan’s highest mountain peaks, with enthusiasm and aplomb. Though an outspoken advocate for the wild, Alvarez doesn’t sugarcoat its downside. He suffers through a “pigpen-thick cloud of mosquitoes” in British Columbia, chokes down grilled field mice when the fish aren’t biting, and wades through the “roiling chocolate milk” of Thorofare River in Alaska’s Denali National Park while large stones pelt his ankles. Despite the hardships, Alvarez remains upbeat, and his open-minded, non-purist philosophy about enjoying the outdoors—“I’ve never enjoyed a secret spot alone quite as much as when I bring someone else”—makes him that much more relatable. Even readers who’ve never set foot on a trail or baited a line will find Alvarez’s winning account of adventure inspiring and entertaining.