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one book that really caught my eye when i was younger was

http://www.amazon.com/American-Boys-Handy-Daniel-Beard/dp/0804844038/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458068521&sr=1-2&keywords=boys+outdoor+survival+guide

and then this one more so as a teen...

http://www.amazon.com/Camping-Woodcraft-Handbook-Travelers-Wilderness/dp/0870495569


they are both old texts, and really don't focus on what you shouldn't do, but all the really awesome shit you CAN do and make while you are outside. Safety advice isn't near as inspiring as awesome possibilities, and you cant be an outdoorsman if you don't want to get out there in the first place!

If your son is young enough to still enjoy being read to, definitely read gary paulson's "hatchet" and his other books, as well as "my side of the mountain" by some author i can't remember now. nothing makes camping more fun for a kid than having it relate to something awesome and enjoyable BEFORE his first experience relates more to mosquito bites and sleeping on an uncomfortable sleeping pad in a wet tent.

I was in a similar situation as you a few years ago. In an unpopular locale for backpacking (north TX) and had zero friends that were into it.

There's endless resources online but I wanted an all encompassing guide in my hands to start. The Backpackers Field Manual was really helpful. It was originally used as a textbook for a backpacking class at Princeton until it was published. It's organized really nicely with everything from equipment to weather and navigation.

I started with this book and then began sifting through websites like www.backpackinglight.com, Erik the Black's blog, Section Hiker and various other websites.

Hope this is helpful. Good luck.

• Deeper/Further/(Eventually)Higher - If I can't be out riding, might as well watch people riding things I never could.
  
• Anything by Jon Krakauer. Into the Wild is an obvious choice, but Eiger Dreams and Under the Banner of Heaven are great as well.
  
• Ride the Divide is a good flick as well, and available on Netflix last I checked.
  
• 3point5. Pro-deal pricing can be addicting.Plus being in the top 5% for snowboarding, camping, and running have to count for something, right?!

I have an inflatable paddle board..not a kayak but I figured I’d share anyway. I’ve had it for two years now and love it! Haven’t had any issues with it and I don’t tend to be gentle with things.

Peak Expedition Inflatable Stand Up Paddle Board | 10'6" Long x 32" Wide x 6" Thick | Durable and Lightweight Touring SUP | Stable Wide Stance | Aqua https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MQX5WV2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_wyLQDb22XKS1Z

I have one chapter left in George Monbiot's Feral and it has really opened my perspective drastically. I visited Scotland for my first time last summer, and Wales just last month (I recently moved to Europe), and although something felt "off" to me, I couldn't put my finger on it. Now I understand that it is entirely the result of grazing and poor management requirements that are even set forth by the government (declaring that oaks, alders, birches, and other trees are "invasive" although they are natural is insane).

I was lucky enough in both Wales and Scotland to find some older forests, which were absolutely stunning. I have spent a lot of my life in New Hampshire (USA), and until the early 1900s something like 95% of the state was clearcut, and I had never been able to imagine that as possible until realizing why the UK looks like it does.

If you have not read Monbiot's book, I highly recommend it for his critique of the UK "wilderness," as well as his overall thesis on rewilding.

Audobon Society field guides have always served me well. You can get general ones (birds of North America, mammals of North America, plants of North America, etc.), or you can get more specific ones for the region you're in that include plants, animals, geology, etc.

The only issue I could see is that the regional guides usual base their focus on the United States. That being said, the National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Rocky Mountain States (Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Colorado) should contain much of the same wildlife as you'd find in Alberta.

The other big name (at least in the United States) is Peterson, though I'm not sure if they have regional guides. I'm most familiar with their larger reference books.

Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills

This book is basically an outdoor bible.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1594851387/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1394070036&sr=8-1

Your fletching is a great start. This is the book I learned from. https://www.amazon.com/Making-Indian-Bows-Arrows-Old/dp/0943604214

He uses artificial sinew for a lot of his fletching.

Some of my favorites that's relevant to this subreddit:

• Jack London - Call of the wild
  
  
• Thoreau - Walden
  
  
• Knut Hamsun - Pan & Growth of the soil (He won the Nobel prize in litterature for the latter one)
  
  
  
  
• Pentti Linkola - Can life prevail? http://www.amazon.com/Can-Life-Prevail-Pentti-Linkola/dp/1907166009
  
  
  
  
• Ted Kaczynski - Technological Slavery: The Collected Writings of Theodore J. Kaczynski, a.k.a. The Unabomber http://www.amazon.com/Technological-Slavery-Collected-k-ebook/dp/B003XRDBMG
  
  
  
  
  
• John Zerzan: Running on Emptiness: The Pathology of Civilization http://www.amazon.com/Running-Emptiness-Pathology-Civilization-ebook/dp/B001YQFXGU
  
  
  
  
• My Norwegian boy scout manual.
  
  
  
  
• Ernest Callenbach - Ecotopia http://www.amazon.com/Ecotopia-ebook/dp/B0030P1WN6/
  
  
  
  
• John Seymour - The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It http://www.amazon.com/The-Self-Sufficient-Life-How-Live/dp/0756654505
  
  
  Check them out:)

http://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Death-Valley-Natural-Wonders/dp/0965917800/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1322638315&sr=8-4

this book has a lot of good info on the trails and how to access them also.

This book shaped so much of what I do and how I behave in the backcountry. Read it in high school, and 17 years later I still recommend to everyone who asks.
http://www.amazon.com/Backwoods-Ethics-Low-Impact-Camping-Edition/dp/088150257X

Check some region specific Foraging guides and blogs on Amazon or online. For birds you can check the following book:
https://www.amazon.com/Birds-Pennsylvania-Field-Guide-Second/dp/1591930871

On the Beaten Path by Robert Alden Rubin is my favorite book written about the AT.

Wilderness Warrior

I should mention that we found the hike in this book.

Every hike we've been on that's been featured in this book has been steller.

The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America
by Douglas Brinkley

There's wilderness survival (get me out of here) and bushcraft (living off the land). Have a look at 98.6: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive for the former topic.