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I recently read this book which is basically about 1950s American beat hipsters who are into Buddhism going on a few /out/ treks up mountains, camping, hitching around etc. I enjoyed the book and it made me want to get outside as soon as winter is over but I noticed some differences in approach between what was done by the characters in this book and common practices on /out/. For example, in the novel they climb up a tall mountain during winter but they have only their sleeping bags and a bonfire, no tents, whereas I can't imagine anyone here condoning that. They also cook all of their food on fires, whereas most people here seem to carry some sort of cooking equipment. What is the explanation for this divide? Are people nowadays too caught up in extra kit they don't need or is there a better explanation for why tents and portable cookers are universal today but were not even mentioned in this story from the 1950s? Discuss.
