A comprehensive history of commercial packing in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Illustrated with over 125 historical photographs.

No ordinary guidebook, Sierra High Route leads you from point to point through a spectacular 195-mile timberline route in California's High Sierra. The route follows a general direction but no particular trail, thus causing little or no impact and allowing hikers to experience the beautiful sub-alpine region of the High Sierra in a unique way.

The rugged San Gabriel Mountains, rising starkly from the edge of the Los Angeles Basin, provide a sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of the city and its surroundings. Angelinos across the county (a population of almost 10 million), as well as visitors from out of state, welcome the opportunity to escape from city chaos into the quiet wilderness. This 9th edition of the classic Wilderness Press guide has been revised and updated to reflect recent trail changes, and now includes trips in the Fish Canyon Narrows, along Alder Creek, and to Jones Peak, as well as perennial favorites such as Old Baldy, Mt. Wilson, and Devils Punchbowl. Each detailed trip description notes the distance, difficulty, and ideal season, and points out the highlights of the trail. The guide includes a companion 4-color waterproof topo map.

This completely revised and updated 8th edition of Sierra South now covers an expanded region of the Sierra, from the southern boundary of Yosemite National Park to southern Golden Trout Wilderness. With new trips and old favorites, Sierra South is the classic guide to backpacking in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, Ansel Adams Wilderness, and Mt. Whitney.

This guide to 45 great hikes on Oahu includes 2 new trips in the inland rainforests of Kailua and Waimanalo. Explore the beaches, cliffs, and rainforests, and learn about native plants, Hawaiian history, and local mythology.

Whether it be through far-flung deserts, luxuriant forests or majestic alpine terrain, when we choose to walk rather than fly or drive, something wonderful happens: our awareness and appreciation of the natural world begins to grow. It can be the faint sound of a gently meandering stream, the distinct smell of decaying leaves on a crisp autumn morning, or even a bowl of cereal that never tasted better than when eaten on a mountaintop at sunrise. Whatever your hiking dreams and goals may be, this book will inspire you to plan and realize your your journeys.

For the first time since 1984, we have a new edition of the classic book that Field & Stream called “the Hiker’s Bible.” For this version, the celebrated writer and hiker Colin Fletcher has taken on a coauthor, Chip Rawlins, himself an avid outdoorsman and a poet from Wyoming. Together, they have made this fourth edition of The Complete Walker the most informative, entertaining, and thorough version yet. The eighteen years since the publication of The Complete Walker III have seen revolutionary changes in hiking and camping equipment: developments in waterproofing technology, smaller and more durable stoves, lighter boots, more manageable tents, and a wider array of food options. The equipment recommendations are therefore not merely revised and tweaked, but completely revamped. During these two decades we have also seen a deepening of environmental consciousness. Not only has backpacking become more popular, but a whole ethic of responsible outdoorsmanship has emerged. In this book the authors confidently lead us through these technological, ethical, and spiritual changes. Fletcher and Rawlins’s thorough appraisal and recommendation of equipment begins with a “Ground Plan,” a discussion of general hiking preparedness. How much to bring? What are the ideal clothes, food, boots, and tents for your trip? They evaluate each of these variables in detail—including open, honest critiques and endorsements of brand-name equipment. Their equipment searches are exhaustive; they talk in detail about everything from socks to freeze-dried trail curries. They end as they began, with a philosophical and literary disquisition on the reasons to walk, capped off with a delightful collection of quotes about walking and the outdoor life. After a thoughtful and painstaking analysis of hiking gear from hats to boots, from longjohns to tent flaps, they remind us that ultimately hiking is about the experience of being outdoors and seeing the green world anew. Like its predecessors, The Complete Walker IV is an essential purchase for anyone captivated by the outdoor life.