The Summer I Was Lost, 1965

"The Summer I Was Lost" by Phillip Viereck, 1965. I read this as a kid, and just finished reading it to my kids, one chapter every night. They loved it, and I enjoyed it again. It's about a teenage kid who has trouble finding himself in society, and then goes to summer camp, where he gets lost in the New Hampshire woods during a storm. At camp he had learned survival skills, and made a few implements out of what he had on him. A fishhook made from a paper clip was probably his most useful creation, enabling him to catch trout for food. I expect that it's fiction, but a good read. It discusses survival techniques and situations quite a bit in the later part of the book. The forest ranger at the end even talks about his PSK in a small tin, which contains fishing hooks & line, a razor blade, waterproof matches, and bullion cubes. It may be hard to find, but I'd recommend it as a short easy read, and one that kids will enjoy.

Reminds me of " my side of the mountian" Or " the other side of the mountian". ( One is about teen survival the other about a paralyzed skiier.) The one about the teen is a good read.

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Sound like a great book for reading to my son in a few years. I'll have to find a copy. Thanks for the info.

I believe you're thinking of My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George which also appears to be a great book to add to my "when my son is a little older" collection.

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Also available on www.half.com

Jagd, are you offering to send this book in the mail to another ETS member so s/he can read it and then send it on again? That's the purpose of the Lending Library forum; it's not intended for general book discussions and recommendations. I think it's better to use "Around the campfire" for general discussion purposes.

I am willing to lend, however, if an individual wished to obtain their own copy of the book, it's available for sale from various sources.

It is currently available (july of 2019) on Amazon for some reasonable prices. (just check the used versions!

This reminds me of a short story in one of my readers in grade school. A kid, they never mentioned his age, got caught out while running his trap line with his dog. He used his snowshoes to dig a hole in the snow lined it with bows and more on a shelf to sleep on, built a fire made a hook from a link of trap chain using a Leatherman and caught fish. I won't bore you with the rest but it was very good and it sparked my interest in wilderness survival. I wish I could remember the title.