Hiker's Guide to the High Sierra Yosemite: The Valley and Surrounding Uplands (High Sierra Hiking Guide) Review

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Hiker's Guide to the High Sierra Yosemite: The Valley and Surrounding Uplands (High Sierra Hiking Guide) ReviewThe 7th edition of this book, like its predecessors, is essentially a guide to the Valley and southern half of Yosemite National Park. Originally conceived as a hiking resource for the old 15' topo maps of the Sierras, this book offers 25 fabulous dayhikes which range from 1 to 16.5 miles. The nice thing about this selection is that you can even experience brief moments of solitude on many of these walks, even on the Yosemite Valley Floor; not an easy trick. With its companion volume to Tuolumne Meadows one has a pretty good guide to the park. Schaffer also throws in 5 nice backpack trips for those who would like to further explore the backcountry.
There are, however, many hiking guides to Yosemite. What makes this one stand out is that Schaffer has done more original field research into the geology and topography of the park than virtually all other guidebook authors combined. His conclusions are that the Sierras are far older than previously thought, and that glaciers had only minimal impact in shaping the Valley as we see it today. Rather, the Valley's stunning cliffs are the result of millions of years of weathering and breakage along fault and joint lines. Much of his research is condensed into this volume and following his trail routes is also incidentally a natural history lesson on the origins of this stunning place. For this alone it is worth the read and well worth a five star rating.
But this book is also quite valuable for its maps. Schaffer has lent his expertise to the maps in several Wilderness Press titles, including the 3 volume set on the Pacific Crest Trail and the guide to the Tahoe Rim Trail. The map included in this volume is far more accurate than the old 15' topo maps, or even the new 7.5' maps insofar as the trails are concerned. Between the fascinating text and the separate folded map, this book is a bargain and deserves wide readership.Hiker's Guide to the High Sierra Yosemite: The Valley and Surrounding Uplands (High Sierra Hiking Guide) Overview

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Assembling California Review

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Assembling California ReviewIf anyone tells you "science destroys beauty," respond by handing them a McPhee. Any of his works will suffice, but this one is a special treasure. It's the completion of a continent-wide tour across the United State. McPhee escorts a succession of geologists who have explained to him why the theory of continental drift requires revision. The modifiers are local geological conditions, each region telling its own tale of lithic activity. In California, the story becomes almost bizarre. John McPhee might well be considered the only writer of science who could present the story in understandable fashion. Perhaps, but he would counter that in Eldridge Moores, he enjoyed a tutor of exceptional value to guide him.
The idea of plate tectonics was a revolution in viewing the earth. Previous thinking was nearly all limited to regional, often arcane, activity. Plate tectonics was the first truly global image of the planet's workings. It was elegant, universal, and it explained so much, so well, that fitting it to conditions was almost simple. Plates move, crunch one another, raise mountains, often with spewing volcanoes, and end their career by sinking below the crust. Look at a map of California [easy to do, since there's one at the front of the book]. It all seems so manifestly organized. Parallel mountain ranges running north-south, separated by logically placed valleys. But the Sierra Nevada stands in lofty majesty compared to the Coast Range standing west across the Great Valley. It shouldn't.
According to Moores, that's symptomatic. By plate tectonics' definition, it should be the Coast Range that should rising in reaction to the pressure of the continental movement. And why is the Great Valley so wide if a whole continent is trying to crowd the Sierra Nevada west? Moores suggests that it's because the real western boundary of the North American Plate is around Salt Lake City. The Mormon capital as a Monterey or Santa Barbara requires some reflective thinking, but Moores knows how to read the rocks. And McPhee knows how to tell us what he sees.
What Moores sees could be compared to a geologic highway accident where a string of vehicles reduce order to chaos. Plate tectonics is too simple because it fails to take into account wandering island chains. These are micro-continents with a wanderlust. Moores sees the likelihood of three island chains pranging the West Coast at different times. Each time, instead of being pushed aside by the mass of the North American Plate, they simply attached themselves like limpets. The extra pressure and mass pushed up the High Sierras and the Coast Range. Positioning, erosion and subsidence left the Great Valley, one of the flattest places in the United States, but rich with alluvial soil. The soil produces the world's best wine grapes, and McPhee and Moores justifiably pause in the Sonoma Valley.
McPhee moves from Moores' analysis of mountain building to the study of earthquakes and fault lines in the Golden State. Moores' view of California's disorganization is reinforced by the many directions faults take around the state. Garlock, Hayward, White Wolf are names that impinge on the notoriety of San Andreas. San Andreas, for all its fame, is not a fault, but a melange of fault structures, due to those impinging island arcs. McPhee's timing was fortuitous. As he was preparing the text, the earth was preparing a fitting conclusion to his story. In October of 1989 the earth moved and presented "an invoice of six billion dollars for a few moments of shaking." McPhee, like a diarist recording a life, follows the 'quake from its origins through the state. It's more compelling reading than any mystery novel. Wherever you live, you will come away from this book with an enlightened view of what the earth can tell you. And you will seek out more McPhee.Assembling California Overview

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Desolation Wilderness and the South Lake Tahoe Basin Review

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Desolation Wilderness and the South Lake Tahoe Basin ReviewThis is a nice book with a serious flaw. To understand this flaw, think about why one might buy a hiking book. Reason 1: to find out what trails exist in a given region, and how to find those trails (ie, the directions to the trailhead for each trail). Reason 2: to get detailed information about specific trails.
For me, the most important information about a specific trail is the distance in miles to one or more points on the trail and the elevations at various points along the trail. If we are deciding which trail to walk, we need to know how difficult the trail is. Difficulty is a function of BOTH distance and elevation change.
Remarkably, this book provides no information about elevations at any point on any trail described, not even the elevation at the trailhead or at the furthest destination reached on the trail. This is unusual among hiking books, and it is a SERIOUS OMISSION.
The book includes small reproductions of portions of topographic maps at the back, but the elevation numbers on the maps are rare (mainly summits) and it would take a long time to decipher the contours for each trail. I pay money for a book assuming someone has already done that for me, and summarized the information in the description of each trail.
Why not follow the example of the Yosemite National Park Service and other hiking books, and include a "trail profile" image for each hike? This image shows distance on the horizontal axis and elevation on the vertical axis, with text labels to indicate specific landmarks or trail junctions along the way. If there are side trails or alternate routes, choose one route for the main profile and add separate profiles below that for the segments of the trail that differ. Or at least state the elevations for the final destination of each side trail.
Aside from this serious flaw, it seems like a good book. The trail descriptions appear to be clear, and the organization and layout are good. The photographs of lakes set in granite bowls are superb.Desolation Wilderness and the South Lake Tahoe Basin Overview

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The Sierra High Route: Traversing Timberline Country Review

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The Sierra High Route: Traversing Timberline Country ReviewThis book outlines a magnificent experience following an off-trail, higher version of the Muir Trail through the High Sierra. We have followed most of Roper's route over several years: sometimes we thought we were lost or overwhelmed, but it always turned out fine, and usually excellent. He treads a fine line between complete instructions that would allow no mistakes, and an experience that gives the hiker their own opportunity for route-finding, discovery, and growth. This is one of our favorite books, and we keep an intact copy plus another one torn apart for each journey and sometimes given away to people met along the way who need it. We still travel the trail some of the time, but genuinely value this alternative farther away from the crowds.The Sierra High Route: Traversing Timberline Country Overview

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Sierra North: Backcountry Trips in Californias Sierra Nevada Review

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Sierra North: Backcountry Trips in Californias Sierra Nevada ReviewI finally replaced my 1988 5th edition with the current 9th edition by Kathy Morey, Mike White and the usual Wilderness Press accomplices.
It is physically larger and heavier, but I have finally realized that it is ok to cut out just the trip I am doing and take it with me, so weight is not an issue.
There are a couple of big improvements. The most significant one for me is the organization by major highway. i. e. Interstate 80 trips, Highway 89 trips, Highway 50 trips, etc. Makes it much easier to select possible trips for a short amout of time off. The other improvement is the use of text on grey background to indicate such things as chapter tabs, Notes that are a supplement to the trail text and so forth. It makes the book more interesting to the eye.
The maps in my 5th edition were in a pocket at the back of the book. Now they are a full page in imbedded in the text with the associated trail description. They still have the trail elevation profiles that are still an important part of my trip planning. The bigger book size allows more and larger black and white photos.
On the trail descriptions themselves, I have recently hiked all the PCT segments, and reading after the fact, find the descriptions accurate. On all the Wilderness Press guides, I sometimes find myself puffing up a steep grade and thinking "why didn't they tell me about this?". Assume that the descriptions are done by an experienced, acclimated hiker and don't assume the first day or two will be easy
A friend just told me about a new hiking area where he had found a great view, so I looked up Thunder Mountain in Sierra North, and found out all about it.
They have GPS waypoints on the trailheads. I find that where I need them is on these obsure trail junctions - maybe something for the 10th edition.
Definitely a good book for your hiking shelf.Sierra North: Backcountry Trips in Californias Sierra Nevada Overview

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