I’ve been rereading Calvin Rutstrum’s book The Wilderness Life and am enjoying it as much as the first time.  I think his insights on wilderness living are keen, and his years of experience are evident in his writings unlike some other popular writers.  (I really dislike Nessmuk, and will write about why at some point.)

In our age when so many worship at church of celebrity, it’s refreshing to read about a time when people were judged on what they could accomplish, not how they looked or what gear they had.
From The Wilderness Life, p. 103:

Natives of long residence on the perimeter of the wilderness base their first approval of a newcomer in their midst primarily on his ability to carry on a manually capable existence.