Beautifully crafted, high quality, sewn, 4 color guidebook. Part of a multiple book series of books on travel through America's beautiful and historic backcountry. Directions and maps to 2,671 miles of the state's most remote and scenic back roads ? from the lowlands of the Yuma Desert to the high plains of the Kaibab Plateau. Trail history is colorized through the accounts of Indian warriors like Cochise and Geronimo; trail blazers; and the famous lawman Wyatt Earp. Includes wildlife information and photographs to help readers identify the great variety of native birds, plants, and animal they are likely to see. Contains 157 trails, 576 pages, and 524 photos (both color and historic).

Backcountry Adventures Arizona guides readers along 2,670 miles of the state's most remote and scenic back roads, from the lowlands of the Yuma Desert to the high plains of the Kaibab Plateau. Trail history comes to life through accounts of Indian warriors like Cochise and Geronimo, and the famous Indian lawman Wyatt Earp.

Beautifully crafted, high quality, sewn, 4 color guidebook. Part of a multiple book series of books on travel through America's beautiful and historic backcountry. Directions and maps to 2,970 miles of routes that travel through the beautiful mountain regions of Big Sur, across the arid Mojave Desert, and straight into the heart of the aptly named Death Valley. Trail history comes alive through the accounts of Spanish Missionaries; eager prospectors looking to cash in during California's gold rush; and legends of lost mines. Includes wildlife information and photographs to help readers identify the great variety of native birds, plants, and animal they are likely to see. Contains 153 trails, 640 pages, and 645 photos.

When people get together around southern Arizona, there's a good chance that somebody will say, "That reminds me of the time I flew with Ike Russell. . . . " A backcountry pilot famous for his jaunts into the wildest, most remote regions of the borderlands, Alexander "Ike" Russell has become something of a legend since his death in 1980, and the stories surrounding his flights never fail to amaze. This book combines biography and oral history by offering a wide range of anecdotes and remembrances about Ike by friends and family. Many describe the great adventures and gut-wrenching close calls that have become enshrined in local folklore as classic "Ike Russell stories," in all their hair-raising and hilarious splendor. Russell was an easterner who moved to Arizona for his health and got his pilot's license in 1948—despite suffering from a respiratory disorder that would have kept other men firmly anchored to the ground. Over the years he flew scientists and other scholars to remote field locations in Mexico's Gulf of California and Sierra Madre Occidental that otherwise might not have been investigated. He often landed on short and dangerous airstrips and never seemed to mind running out of gas, getting caught without provisions, or attempting night landings in unlighted terrain. He took along a teapot wherever he went—and wherever he stopped, his first priority was to brew a quick cup. Backcountry Pilot is the story of a larger-than-life adventurer, with those who knew Ike sharing tales tall and true about his famous exploits, brushes with fate, and sometimes narrow escapes from the jaws of disaster. It includes reminiscences by such scientists and friends as botanist Richard Felger, whom Ike frequently flew down to Seriland; ethnohistorian Bernard Fontana, whom Ike took to Tarahumara country; and paleoecologist Paul Martin, who talked Ike into a nine-month trip through Africa over totally unfamiliar terrain. A concluding chapter by Thomas Bowen offers a brief biographical sketch of Russell. Ike Russell was a central figure for a generation of people who studied the southwestern desert and who helped others see it as a biological treasure rather than a wasteland. More than a highly skilled bush pilot, he was an extraordinary human being who touched the lives of everyone he met. For those who never got the chance, Backcountry Pilot secures Ike Russell's legacy in the desert skies.

This comprehensive guide includes 42 canyons rated by technical and physical difficulty in addition to detailed descriptions supplemented by maps, photos and GPS coordinates. The trips described in this book will guide you on some of the most beautiful and remote backcountry adventures to be found in Arizona.

From mountain heights to canyon depths, Arizona offers more opportunities for adventure than most people would contemplate in a lifetime. John Annerino has experienced more Arizona adventures than most, and he shares them in this book. It features 50 excursions -- canyoneering, trekking, climbing, river-running, and even car touring -- plus an overview of geology, ecology, and climate, and an introduction to Native American tribes and state history. Maps, travel notes, and planning essentials such as water sources and supply points help make this an indispensable guide for outdoor excitement.