A fictional book about roughing it in nature, can be in any time period. It can be about hiking, searching for something, or anything in between.
If you know Robert Service then you know that he portrays nature (Mostly forestry and mountain areas) as being dangerous, judging, and all powerful but at the same time welcoming. I can’t explain it, if you know Robert Service it would be great if you could suggest a book.
I could suggest Lands Forlorn by George Douglas 1913 Putnam.
Douglas met Service somewhere near Fort Smith I believe and Service traveled with Douglas’ party on the Mackenzie River.
Service and Douglas discovered two dead trappers. One shot and the other commited suicide. It was this trip that prompted Service’s 3rd volume of poetry, Rhymes of a Rolling Stone. Lands Forlorn is a far reaching title. One of the focal persons in the book was John Hornby who died of starvation with 2 other companions in the Barren Ground. The story was published under several titles, namely Unflinching, Death in the Barren Ground, The Legend of John Hornby and Cold Burial.
John
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?kn=John+Hornby++Clive&sts=t&x=32&y=12
Sorry, I just realized you were looking for novels. Service wrote a few good ones Trail of 98, The Roughneck, etc.
You might alsom like Jack London’s, “The Road” which is non fiction but tells of his hobo life.
John