6 Alberta Books For the Outdoor Enthusiast
Instead of gifting hiking gear to the outdoor enthusiasts on your list, we recommend switching it up and giving them a book! Discover travel guides, outdoor adventures, and more below!
STREAMS OF CONSEQUENCE
By Lorne Fitch
Streams of Consequence weaves together a bit of “ecology for dummies,” a cross-section of stories and essays on Alberta’s biodiversity riches and treasured landscapes, and a backdrop of selections on conservation issues. These are stories of the land and of Alberta’s plants, fish, and wildlife told through the voice of a biologist with decades of experience on the front lines of conservation efforts. Through stories, metaphor, and allegory, basic ecological principles are made clear, ecosystems are described, and our human role in stewarding these natural treasures is revealed.
Streams of Consequence: Dispatches from the Conservation World Lorne Fitch
Published: Oct 17, 2023 by RMB | Rocky Mountain Books
Lorne Fitch 
Published: Oct 17, 2023 by RMB | Rocky Mountain Books
ISBN: 9781771606691
Available as an accessible eBook
CANADIAN ROCKIES TRAIL GUIDE
By Brian Patton and Bart Robinson
Hikers affectionately refer to this hiking guidebook as “the Bible.” When it was published in 1971, it was the first book with accurate distances and detailed descriptions to the hiking trails of the Canadian Rockies. The updated 10th edition covers more than 3,400 km (2,100 miles) of hiking trails in Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Kootenay and Waterton Lakes National Parks, plus the provincial parks of Mt. Assiniboine, Mt. Robson, Akamina-Kishinena, Peter Lougheed, and Elk Lakes.
Canadian Rockies Trail Guide Brian Patton
Published: May 15, 2022 by Summerthought Publishing
Brian Patton
Published: May 15, 2022 by Summerthought Publishing
ISBN: 9781926983530
CANADIAN OUTDOOR SURVIVAL GUIDE
By Duane Radford
This book is a straightforward, practical guide for taking care of yourself (and others) in a survival situation with crucial, basic survival skills required for an emergency situation during all four seasons in all wilderness areas of Canada. Readers will learn essential wilderness survival skills for each region of Canada and learn about environmental hazards such as; weather, predators and regional terrain, emergency first aid, search and rescue.
Canadian Outdoor Survival Guide Published: May 15, 2022 by Lone Pine Publishing
Duane Radford
Published: May 15, 2022 by Lone Pine Publishing
ISBN: 9781551056050
Available as an accessible eBook
MOTHER EARTH PLANTS FOR HEALTH AND BEAUTY
By Carrie Armstrong
The recipes and traditions found in this book reflect the culture and the knowledge of the Medicine Wheel, featuring 26 edible and medicinal plants that you can gather in nature as Carrie and her grandmother did. Readers will learn how to create a luxurious and natural beauty regime by crafting your own lotions, soaps and teas from all-natural ingredients.
Mother Earth Plants for Health & Beauty: Indigenous Plants, Traditions, and Recipes Carrie Armstrong
Published: Dec 01, 2020 by Eschia Books
Carrie Armstrong
Published: Dec 01, 2020 by Eschia Books
ISBN: 9781926696645
Available as an accessible eBook
THE RANGELAND DERBY
By Glen Mikkelsen
Every summer for 10 decades, drivers and outriders with their horses and wagons have dashed, yelled and thundered around Calgary’s racetrack for the Rangeland Derby. Craving excitement and speed, cowboys and their horses have stoked their version of hell on wheels, creating an electrifying uniquely western event. This book takes its hat off to this incomparable contest and gallops into the lives, stories and true tall tales of the men and women in a community that has no equal.
Rangeland Derby, The: 100 Years of Chuckwagon Racing at the Calgary Stampede Glen Mikkelsen
Published: Mar 01, 2023 by Folklore Publishing
Glen Mikkelsen
Published: Mar 01, 2023 by Folklore Publishing
ISBN: 9781773110134
Available as an accessible eBook
NOT HOCKEY
Edited by Angie Abdou and Jamie Dopp
In this carefully curated collection of essays, editors Jamie Dopp and Angie Abdou go beyond their first collection, Writing the Body in Motion, to engage with the meaning of sport found in Canadian sport literature. How does “sport” differ from physically risky recreational activities that require strength and skill? Does sport demand that someone win? At what point does a sport become an art? With the aim of prompting reflections on and discussions of the boundaries of sport, contributors explore how literature engages with sport as a metaphor, as a language, and as bodily expression. Instead of a focus on what is often described as Canada’s national pastime, contributors examine sports in Canadian literature that are decidedly not hockey.
Not Hockey: Critical Essays on Canada’s Other Sport Literature Published: Aug 29, 2023 by Athabasca University Press
Published: Aug 29, 2023 by Athabasca University Press
ISBN: 9781771993777
Available as an accessible eBook