My main reason for saying it, SuZQ, is that he broke just about every rule of backcountry recreation. No one knew where he was - not which park, not even which state. He told no one he was leaving town, or why. He parked his truck in a remote area, didn't check in with rangers, left no information on his truck about where he was hiking or how long he planned to be gone. It's been a long time since I read that book, but I remember it made me very angry. He was very lucky to survive -- but it needn't have been nearly as dramatic or dangerous if he had followed some basic rules. As an experienced backcountry hiker and climber, he should have known better.
He made some comments near the end of the book about having a portable blender so he and friends could make margaritas in the high country on backpacking trips. I can understand getting thirsty while backpacking - but alcohol at high altitudes is never a good idea, and if he's hauling margarita makings, I wonder what essential gear he's leaving behind in order to make room. Or, worse yet, what essential gear might be left behind by a cocky reader with an attitude who decides to carry some Jack Daniels instead of first aid equipment or adequate food. This kind of irresponsibility in someone who had paid such a high price for disregarding safety really tries my patience. Just what would it take to teach him to be careful?
I've done very little backpacking and no backcountry hiking unless I was with experienced friends. I never developed that kind of knowledge. But I still remember, the very first time I wanted to hike alone (on a very populated trail, although I didn't know it at the time,) I was concerned about how I would get help if I fell, how long it would take someone to check the car, how anyone would know to look for me. If I was that smart, as a flatlander with no outdoor experience at all, I'd expect far more of Ralston.
I would like him a lot better if, instead of "look what I did to survive," he had focused the book on "here are the stupid mistakes I made, here's what it cost me to survive, here's what you need to do to avoid being in this kind of situation." There was some of that, but not nearly enough, as I recall. My feeling was that there was a lot of bravado.
He just struck me as a very irresponsible person. Again, it's been years since I read the book, and I hate to sound judgmental, but it clearly left a very bad taste in my mouth. If I misread/misinterpreted, I'm sorry, but that's how it struck me.
It's been a long time - I'd guess I read it the year it was published, but I don't remember when that was. Somewhere between four and ten years ago, is as close as I can come. It's certainly possible that I'm completely wrong, that I'm being completely unfair; that other experiences I no longer even remember, wrongly colored my take on the book. But it left a mark; I have no idea why it provoked me so much.
