Hiking Trails » Hiking Books

Umtanum Ridge

Khan — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:06:03 +0000

On this side of the mountains, I seem to be slogging through snow and rain at least until June. In fact, I usually encounter patches of snow year round. It gets tiresome. I find myself daydreaming about a warm dry trail… Laurie and I decided to do something about it on Saturday, and we headed east to the sunny side of the state. We dropped Laurie’s car off at the dealership early in the morning, knowing we had to be back at 6:30 PM to retrieve it before the place closed. I am not familiar with many hiking opportunities in Eastern Washington, but we found a venue known as Umtanum Ridge, halfway between Ellensburg and Yakima. It’s not really a trail. Most of the route follows an old jeep road. It felt weird to be hiking out in the open with no trees. The 360 degree view was spectacular. And the wildflowers: wow! So this is what spring is like! We rambled down to the Yakima River in bright sunshine. Laurie brought ingredients for a great pasta recipe, so we cooked that up for lunch. The climb back up from the river was tough. Had we really lost this much elevation? Now we were paying the price, and gaining it back. I guess the weather can change rapidly in the desert too, because we were soon enveloped by cold wind and rain. We hurriedly put on warmer jackets and ran part of the way back to stay warm. After a 15 mile day, we piled into the car and cranked the heat full blast. We drove sleepily back over the Cascades and pulled into Kirkland Honda at 6:33 PM. Either we’ve gotten really good at timing our hikes, or we were really lucky. I’m thinking the latter.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Khan — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:46:16 +0000

BOOKS

Bryce Canyon National Park

By Fred Hirschmann
Bryce Canyon Natural History Association

Category: People and Places
Region: North America
Pricing: Expensive (over $15)

Rating: Highly Recommended

Review
This large-format book is filled with stunning photographs of Utah’s Bryce Canyon, accompanied by notes from the photographer, Fred Hirschmann, who spent a winter working at the park during the late 1970s. For those that love the wilderness of Bryce, and there are many hikers that do, each turn of the page stirs the memory and ignites the desire to return. The images of delicate light and color reveal the beauty of Bryce throughout the seasons. Hirschmann also includes razor-sharp pictures of plants, leaves, pines, gravel and even a feather – items of surprising beauty that many people miss as they stare in awe at the rock formations and hoodoos. The inclusion of these images, beautifully shot like the finest still-life compositions, make the book complete.

With its cities of pinnacles, obelisks and towers, Bryce Canyon is arguably unique among the national parks of America, and indeed the world. As Fred Hirschmann says: “Bryce Canyon is a land of incredible scenery. The photographs… capture only part of the beauty. Missing is the sweet aroma of ponderosa pine on spring and summer days, the chattering of a tree squirrel… and the sound of wind rushing past hoodoos and through pine boughs. When visiting Bryce Canyon, by all means park your automobiles and walk the trails.”

At this point we interrupt Fred to implore you to walk the trails if you want to truly experience Bryce Canyon (our recommendations are at the end of this review). As with any national park, life through a windshield is never the same. Now back to Fred.

“Rise with the sun and watch the warm orange light radiate across the hoodoos. Hike to the bottom of the canyon and absorb the impressive grandeur of the pink cliffs. Fill your lungs with the clean air… let your eyes feast on the broad expanse of thousands of square miles of undeveloped, wild western scenery.

“Bryce Canyon’s scenery is likely to enthrall you to the point of returning again and again to gaze at nature’s finest erosional handiwork.”

And when you are unable to visit Bryce Canyon in person, do the next best thing – pick up this book and marvel at the incredible scenery, painted in the photographer’s fine brushstrokes of subtle hue and light.

Warning: As of October 2000, this book is out of print and in limited supply. Used copies may be purchased from Amazon.com – availability permitting.

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Explore Wilderness Australia

Khan — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:15:52 +0000

BOOKS

Explore Wilderness Australia
By Neil Hermes
BHB International, Inc

Category: Travel Handbooks
Region: Asia Pacific
Pricing: Moderate (less than $25)Rating: Recommended

Review
This extensive guide to Australia’s diverse wilderness regions provides practical information, including:

* Details of access, facilities and recreational activities
* Clearly marked maps
* Tips on driving in remote areas
* Contact numbers of the parks, tour operators and adventure sports facilities
* Local wildlife facts
* Over 220 color photographs

The book is divided into seven chapters, each covering a state (including Tasmania) and it is a great starting place for anyone wishing to know more about the enormous Australian wilderness and what there is to see and do outside the cities.

Principal and recommended hikes are mentioned, particularly those in the national and state park lands (the Valley of the Winds walk at Katatjuta is rated as one of Australia’s greatest bush experiences when undertaken in the early morning), but trail details are sparse. Also provided for each region is information on camping, history, landmarks, flora and fauna, and a special panel that lists adventure and tour activities such as hot air ballooning and kayaking.

Well-presented and full of maps and great images, this book is recommended to anyone planning a trip to see the wild and rugged side of Australia.

John Muir: Nature’s Visionary

Khan — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:41:50 +0000

BOOKS

John Muir: Nature’s Visionary
By Gretel Ehrlich
National Geographic Society

Category: People and Places

Region: All

Pricing: Expensive (over $25)

Rating: Highly Recommended

Review
If America has one environmentalist who stands above any other, that person is John Muir. When he spoke about nature the whole of America listened, including presidents. But who was this visionary and champion of nature?

Gretel Ehrlich celebrates Muir’s life and the wild unspoiled lands that he loved and fought to preserve. In a book crammed with dramatic landscape photographs (including some by David Muench), as well as sepia-toned historic images and sketches by Muir himself, this book is one of the most complete and enjoyable works about John Muir.

As you would expect, the book traces his life from his birth in Scotland, emigration to America and subsequent travels around the world. Many pages carry quotes from Muir himself that show his keen observations and reflections on life. “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity” – a quote even more pertinent today considering the relentless increase in the pace of life and urban development since his death in 1914.

This is not the most comprehensive biography. Other works – such as The Wilderness World of John Muir by Edwin Way Teale – offer a more detailed and complete portrait of the man and his life. However, none can match this National Geographic publication for its overall impression of Muir and the landscapes that he loved so much.

“I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in,” he wrote. And every hiker the world over can empathize with that.

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