It took Lewis and Clark 8,000 miles; two years, four months, and nine days; 45 men, one teenage guide (and her one newborn son), and one dog; one mutiny; scores of arduous portages; and countless snowy mountain passes to get to the Pacific Northwest and back.

You can relate: Sometimes you feel as if you’re facing an untamed frontier as you consider the choices at a fish market, the vastness of a wholesale club, or the aimlessness of a conversation with someone who seems allergic to getting to the point. Which way to go? you think. Or, Where to start? How to get from here to there?

Lewis and Clark may have been stuck with crude maps and leaky canoes, but you have the reliable advice, tips, and tricks found on these pages. Before you know it, everything will be a walk in the park—no compass, no papoose, and no buckskin getup required.