A Good, and Maybe the Only, Book About the History of American Hiking
582224
Even though it's a "history," the guy writes very entertaining stories of hikers pioneering the way.

And it is factually correct!

How do I know?  Simple.

While many have written about my founding Backpacker magazine, this is the first that tells it like it was.

Another story he tells that was a lot of fun to read, was of the first end-to-end hike on the Appalachian Trail.

Earl Shaffer took his 124-day through-hike in 1948 just after World War II.  His story is not just about his experiences on the trail in the backcountry, but of interesting foiks he met in the villages and towns the trail passed through back then.

Then there are Shaffer's observations about the differences he found in the AT on his second, and particularly his third, through-hike in 1998, fifty years later. He was highly critical about the "new" wilderness view of hiking that he changed the AT's route.  We love the trail to stay away from towns.  But nice to hear Shaffer loved it going through them.

Then there is the story of Colin Fletcher taking the first end-to-end hike of the Grand Canyon.  There are some beautiful quotes of Fletcher's experiences on that long hike.

It shouldn't be a surprise that On the Trail author Chamberlin would write a patiently detailed and interesting history of American hiking, for he is an avid hiker himself.

He did his own through-hike on the AT.  And he spent summers working with a trail maintenance crew on both the Adirondack and Catskill mountain trails of New York.

Any active hiker will want to own this book and read bits and pieces of it at leisure.  It's makes good evening reading after a weary day of work when you are dreaming about being out there on your favorite trail.

Now, having said nice, I'll be a little critical.

There is a lot of important details he's missed and hasn't even hinted of their importance.

While Chamberlin gives Jim Kern plaudits, for instance, of founding the Florida Trail, he doesn't mention one of the most colorful and tireless trail builders, Gudy Gaskill, who almost single-handedly built the Colorado Trail, a significant section of the Continental Divide Trail, a five hundred-mile section of trail from the mouth of Waterton Canyon southwest of Denver to Durango.

And he also praises me for founding Backpacker magazine and what we did to set new standards of clean trail practices, it is difficult to see why he skipped over some very important things that happened for trails in the twentieth century.

He does not mention, for example, the only national lobbying organization that was formed to advocate for trails, the American Hiking Society.  Nor does he mention the Hikanation hikers taking the fifteen-month hike across America advocating for the creation of the only cross continental trail, the American Discovery Trail.

These were a bundle of efforts that probably have done as much for hiking trails on the national level as anything else in the history of American hiking.

And when talking about racial minorities in the hiking community as well as efforts to bring more inner city African-Americans and Hispanics into the woods, he fails to mention Jim Kern's extraordinary accomplishment of putting together Big City Mountaineers, which is making a significant difference in that direction.

Despite my criticism, I'm giving the book a five star rating.  It deserves that.  And if there is ever a revised edition I would hope that Chamberlin will take a few minutes to consider at least acknowledging these leaved-behinds.
2424538
The photos alone are worth the price of this oversized paperback.  Mr. Anderson has assembled a detailed and engaging history of the  "pioneer" period (1850-1930) at the South and North rims of the  Grand Canyon (and the cliffs, slopes and water in between).  The familiar  names of trails and canyons are fleshed into the first hardy folks who  endeavored to eek a livelihood out of northern Arizona's unforgiving desert  canyon.  We meet explorers, entrepreneurs and industrialists.  Prospectors  stake their claims, both legitimate and fraudulent.  Mormons seek refuge  from the laws of their own home state.  Individuals fight their losing  tugs-of-war against the Railroad/Concession/Park Service aliance. While  treatment of prehistoric and early Spanish events is adequate to set the  stage for discussing the later periods, it is not intended to be  comprehensive [see On the Edge of Splendor].  This comfortably readable  volume has finally clarified for me the preferential treatment of Fred  Harvey Enterprises, the unmistakable ambivalence of the National Park  Service toward its patrons (visitors), and the puzzling destruction of  historic sites and abandonment of remote access roads by the NPS.  This is  great reading for any Canyon junkie.
672834
This book is part one of a two-volume history of Yellowstone National Park, written by a long-time park historian.  Haines is an old-style historian, the kind who could write a book entitled "Yellowstone Place Names," or begin this book with a chapter on the name of the park.  He has maps showing the dates in which today's Yellowstone changed hands from France, England, or Spain; or from Louisiana to Missouri to Nebraska to Dakota to Idaho to the current states.  He likes documenting such things.  His years in the National Park Service did not train him to think outside the box.

But those years also taught him the park inside out.  The book is full of little hints about special places off the beaten track, unmarked on any map.  Haines also knows the park's history thoroughly.  He commands the facts and can weigh in on various debates about this and that.  As a result, this book is a valuable reference for those interested in Yellowstone.

The book is a great source of anecdotes about early visitors.  Haines spends a lot of time on the mountain men who were the first whites in the area.  He tells the story of each American expedition in the region.  He introduces us to all the early Euro-American settlers.  (He also spends a little time on the pre-European Natives.)  Though Haines is not self-conscious about what he's doing, this story fits into he usual one of Conquest, of Explorers taming the land.

What, in Haines' mind, does it all add up to?  It's not clear.  Haines is not one to give you an overall narrative.  He does not give us an interpretation of the park and its history.  He doesn't tell us why the park's story is important to tell.

That, dear reader, is left to you.  When you do it, though, you'll want this book on your shelf to refer to.
468014
This is a well-written summary of hikes in Utah's national parks. I have been to all the parks already and this guide is pretty inclusive, but I would have added a few others and omitted a few in this book. But, that is all opinion, so I think the author did a good job. Too many hikes in too many parks! Only shortcoming is the lack of color pictures, whuch would have added a nice touch.
603452
Hi, my name is Paul Bulgier, also known as Slugman in northwest hiking circles, and this is my first Amazon book review. (The "Anon A. Moose" thing is just a stale joke from when I first registered here.) I read the rules, so hopefully this review will be up to snuff. I received a free copy of this book so I could do the review.

I've never met the author, Roy Hughes, but I've known who he is for several years. He was the artist-in-residence at Glacier National Park a few years back, while I was at the park visiting, and I saw his artwork for the first time shortly thereafter. We also both belong to the same hiking website (which has thousands of members). I really liked his work, both the execution and the style, his "digital block print" technique. It's very impressionistic, capturing the feel of a place as much as it does the specifics of what it looks like. Having just been to Glacier National Park, then looking at the images he created perhaps just days before I was there, I knew for a fact that he had beautifully captured the essence of the places he portrayed. Hanging on my wall right above me as I type this is a framed print of his titled "Grinnell Glacier", which can be seen in his book "100 Beautiful Views of Glacier National Park", also available here on Amazon. I also own "Fireweed and Burn", but I haven't had it framed yet. If you have been to Glacier National Park, if you loved it, if you took pictures, or bought picture books of the park, you need that book.<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/100-Beautiful-Views-of-Glacier-National-Park/dp/1565796322/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">100 Beautiful Views of Glacier National Park</a>

Well, having been myself to most of the places pictured in North Cascades Beautiful, I can attest that Mr. Hughes has once again captured the soul of a place, numerous places to be precise, from North Cascades National Park, to many of the wonderful wilderness areas in various national forests of Washington state. The 75 images he created give an artistic tour of the beauty on display in the north Cascades. Actually the majority of the prints are not from the national park itself, but rather from the entire area of the north Cascades, a mix of places you could walk to in an hour and some where you would need to hike for a couple of days just to get a glimpse. Mr Hughes has been hiking this area, compiling images using photography, learning the land and the climate and the seasons, then using his skills as an artist to create the images in this book. The images feature the landscape, the history, the people who visit this special area.

Art is a very subjective thing, so I can't guarantee you would love this book. Go to Mr. Hughes' page here at Amazon, look at some of the sample images, read about his methods and artistic influences, and see if the style of art he creates appeals to you. If it does, then I can give my highest recommendation to this book, and I am in a position of knowledge to say he has captured the spirit of the north Cascades in his images.

I almost forgot to mention: the book is not just images. Mr Hughes has written a few thoughtful and well-chosen words for each image, giving information on the location, or the people who might be pictured, or his reason for loving that particular scene enough to immortalize it. The book is listed as a paperback, and it is, but it a large format book, 8 1/2 inches on a side, and a real quality job of printing, very nice paper.

If anyone comments on this review, please be gentle. Remember, it's my first time. (lol) I was a little torn as to how much of my love for Mr. Hughes' artwork I should let be inserted into this review. But since there is no way to be really objective about art, to predict what someone I don't even know might like, I decided that the only thing I could do is give my subjective opinion, and make sure it is clearly identified as such. My opinion is that I love Mr. Hughes' art, and this book is chock full of it, depicting places I have been to and love as well.
1636376
Perhaps inspired by reading and seeing "Wild" and "A Walk in the Woods", I have been longing to get back on the trail after a 25-year hiatus, and the PCT is nearby. Although a thru-hike is not in the cards for me, I still wanted to get a feel for what an extended hike is all about, and The Last Englishman was just what I was looking for. Plenty of details about the terrain and the rigors of life on the trail, with just enough about the trail people and Foskett's own life to make it interesting and not just a technical guide. I enjoyed it, and will surely move on to another of his books.
4502703
having been very impressed with AFALCONGUIDE's 'Hiking Virginia' I picked this up as I left for North Carolina for an spur of the moment hiking trip.

The intro to the book is quite good, as it is almost an introduction to hiking.  Sections include" clothing, footwear, leave no trace. hiking with kids and appalachian trail, as well as several others.  This is something that the Hiking Virginia book lacked.

What I didn't like about this book was the way that the hikes were presented.  The detailed maps contained in the Hiking VA book were gone, as was the elevation profile. The information wasn't as neatly presented as the VA counterpart, and I still can't figure out how the hikes were organized.

Did this book help me? Yes, but it was no where near as informative as its VA counterpart.

One hike that I would recommend is the Mount Mitchell hike. And if you decide to do it, make sure that you 1) Hike the Big Tom trail (it's a killer .5 miles..and the trail leading from Big Tom  to Mount Craig to Mount Mitchell is great) and 2) stop by the restaurant on the road leading up to Mount Mitchell and get a helping of the cobler (with vanilla ice cream of course)..

Other worthwhile hikes are the Craggy Gardens and the Linville Falls hike, but beware, parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway have been washed away, and the detour is h#ll..

Happy Hiking!!!!!!!!!!
1670084
As a general rule, I don't read books on trails that I have personally hiked, but I made an exception this time due to the lack of readily available books on my Kindle.  Besides, I thought, it might be interesting to see how our hike as a 50+ year old couple (http://www.trailjournals.com/Brakeman2014PCT/) would contrast to a 30+ year old single female.

And contrast it did(!), which made the book an interesting read rather than a rehash of our hike.  The contrasts and common themes of the book were Carrot's repeated challenges of running out of food and water (now sure how one does that repeatedly without eventually learning  how to prevent the issue), mental challenges of hiking or camping alone and her trail romances.

If you are looking for a book to teach you more about backpacking or tell you about the beautiful sights along the Pacific Crest Trail, then this book if not for you as that is not the focus of of the book at all.  Instead it's a bit of a mini-Cheryl-Strayed-Wild book with focus more on the mental aspect of life, growing and long distant hiking.

Carrot shows potential in her writing - a good first stab at self publishing..  It's rough in places, has some grammar and spelling issues but the author's messages are conveyed in a quick and easy read.  With some more practice and networking to find guidance, the next one should be even better.
3680115
Go listen to Diane Rehm's interview. It gives a good take on the book, and whether you want to read it. I believe you will. When you finish the book, you'll want to hike the Pacific Coast Trail yourself.
1876542
I picked this book up at a Ramsey Outdoor store in New Jersey.  It was the only Utah book they had.  Pretty sad statement since Utah has some of the best hiking on the planet.  Anyway, I was reluctant to buy a hiking book until I could flip through it and see if it covered what I needed it too.  At first glance, I almost put it back.  It did not have elevations or GPS coordinates and the distance information was rounded not exact.  Then I started reading it and looking at the maps.  What I realized was this was a book that purposely ommitted the gory details to simplify the process.  The maps (and there are a lot of them) are handdrawn and include easy to follow symbols.  The descriptions on each hike are short and easy to digest.  I found myself using it to learn more about the hikes and which ones I would be interested in.  There are also lots of B&W photos with 2 sections of color panels.  The best part of this book is that it focus' on the four corners area (Utah, Arizona, New Mexico & Colorado) and has a lot to offer those interested in rock art and ruins.  It is a very easy read and it will be one of the books that makes the cut in my luggage when I go out to Utah in August.  A great big thank you to Ms. Hinchman for writing a hiking book for the rest of us.
4550035
After buying both this book and "Hiking Mt. Rainier National Park" by Schneider, I would say this book definitely takes second place.  The nice features are the detailed elevations and the topographic maps.  He also gives anecdotal descriptions, like if there are mosquitos or not.  However there are a couple of detractors.  A few of the hikes are not really even in the park.  He also intersperses some snide comments that I do not find humorous, though I guess that is what he was meant by them.  A good book if you ONLY intend to day hike and not explore the park in depth, but for a really complete guide Schneider's book is a lot better, as well as being more professional and emphasizing the care that we need to observe to preserve this beautiful national park. However, I do recommend buying both of them for an even more complete hiking guide.  They really do not overlap too much and the writing styles are so different you benefit from the information found in both of them about the same hike.
2521381
This is a very handy little book to own if you are into the hiking thing at any level.  I say this, but always remember that not any one book can meet all needs.  I certainly would not use this book, and this book alone to plan my entire book.  I have hiked many of the trails; both in Missouri and Arkansas over the years, and can say for certain that the information in this volume is pretty accurate.  That being said.....

As the title would indicate, this is a book dealing with 50 hiking trails located in the Missouri and Arkansas Ozarks.  It should be noted that a few of these trails are outside the area that traditionally are known as the Ozarks, some of those located in Eastern Missouri being the most notable.  Each of the trails is given an entire chapter and one black and white photo to represent some aspect of the trail.  The author has included total distances, hiking time, vertical rise, rating (easy, mild, difficult, etc.), and maps with GPS coordinates.  The author has done a pretty good job of describing the trail, identifying and specific difficulties and letting the hiker know the nature of the facilities at each location.  It should be noted here that the author's distances will differ somewhat from government and local literature.  I would highly recommend that you go by the author's figures rather than the government figures as they are much more accurate.  I would also recommend that you pick up local literature at the site of the trail before you begin the hike, ignoring the distances, but paying close attention to other trail tips and camp locations, if applicable.

Some of the location directions of some of these trails are a bit general and I do recommend you purchase a map of the local area, or at least a good, detailed state map.  The author's directions are very accurate, but due to the nature of Arkansas and Missouri roads, it is good to have all the information available possible.

All in all, this is a useful book to have around if you are contemplating hiking the area.  Most of these hikes are an absolute delight.  Do keep in mind that some are quite difficult and you should take heed to the author's comments concerning these difficulties.  Other trails are quite easy...all, easy or difficult are worth the effort.  I am giving this one four stars as I feel some of the directions as to actually getting to the location of the trail are a bit confusing. Also, I have some mild issues with the author's opinion as to what constitutes the difference between "difficult, easy, moderate, etc."  This is a pretty subjective area.  Other than that, this is a fine book.
4448415
In 2009, the hiking world lost one of its best advocates, author Ron Adkison.  A veteran hiker and author of books on hiking the desert terrain of the Southwest, he did much to popularize the sport.  Following his passing, his son, Ben Adkison has taken on the responsibility of updating his work, including the popular 'Best Easy Day Hikes, Grand Canyon' book, now in its third edition.

The Grand Canyon remains one of America's most popular national parks, but many visitors still think it best to drive by car (or tour bus) to various overlooks and take in the sights.  A minimal amount of walking, however, offers so much more.  Although rugged, with many trails better suited for backpacking, the canyon does offer a lot of good and relatively easy (and amazingly uncrowded) trails to fully experience all the canyon has to offer.  This book explores most of them.  From the long, paved, South Rim Trail to short hikes below the rim, this book gives day hikers an opportunity to explore trails from 1 to 10 miles long with (for the Grand Canyon region) relatively little exertion.

The book is divided into South and North Rim trails, but as one who has used this guide on both sides of the Grand Canyon, I strongly recommend that readers go to the less populated North Rim.  It has a higher elevation than the southern counterpart, and one can find a fair amount of solitude, even on short hikes.  But where ever you go, this book offers opportunities to get out of your car and explore the Grand Canyon up close.  Make use of it, and offer a word of thanks to Ron Adkison for writing such a good guide, and to his son for keeping it current.
1655800
A good book to read for anyone thinking of a long distance hike.  He offers good advice especially for someone like me with limited knowledge.  What I like best with the book for example with water filtration he list many different methods while listing both the positive and negative with each method.  Now with water filtration I can take what I learned and do further research and find any advancements since the book was published.  I can also find youtube videos on people using these different water filtration methods and their own personal review of the product.  This book gives me a solid foundation for me to build on for long distance hiking.
2379966
We've been on several hikes from this book and overall I'm quite pleased.  The hikes are definitely very good (Lower Cataract Lake was great), and I like the breakdown of the hikes at the beginning of the book.  The overview at the books beginning breaks the hikes down into difficulty levels and hike strong points such as "good for history buffs," "great views," and "good for wildflowers."  I would like it if the maps would outline more of the hikes and how they branch off of each other, and I wish there were more hikes included as I know of quite a few more in the area, but overall I liked this book and would recommend it.
835035
This book provides a good history of the national parks.  The first chapters on the history of the national park idea and the national park system are particularly interesting and well-written.  Runte emphasizes "cultural nationalism" as an explanation for the park idea, the notion that American cultural identity could rest on our relationship with wilderness and scenery, and thus best be established in opposition to Europe, where culture is tied to human history.

Runte makes those claims well, but the first edition attracted the most attention for its "worthless lands" thesis, and this edition begins with a response to his critics.  This is a very measured response, emphasizing clarification more than argumentation, but Runte stands his ground on the issues.  His main claim is that a necessary condition for creation of a park before the 1930s was that the land be worthless or un-economic for primary products such as agriculture, grazing, mining or timber; many of the parks were recognized as valuable for tourism, which is why they were made parks.  Properly circumscribed, the thesis gets the first decades right, though it starts to break down at about the time the Everglades NP was established.  By the time of the New Deal and Civilian Conservation Corps, the worthless lands thesis is clearly no longer correct.

Like other histories of the national parks that I've read, this book emphasizes the trophy parks - - those with monumental scenery such as Yellowstone and Yosemite.  Runte nods in the direction of the national recreation areas (like Lake Mead) and urban parks (like Golden Gate) more than most other authors, but he really only mentions them in passing.  Many other parks, even beautiful ones, get ignored if they are not famous (Voyageurs, Big Bend, and Theodore Roosevelt, to name three).  And what's up with Steamtown USA or Homestead National Monument of American, for crying out loud?

Like everyone else he ignores whole categories of national parks, some of which are visited more than the trophy parks - the historic sites in Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston; the battlefield parks; and the Blue Ridge Parkway, among others.  Each of those units get 5-15 million visitors a year, while Yosemite and Yellowstone get about 4 million.  Even so, I haven't yet found the history of the park system that gives these non-monumental parks justice.

Leaving these other parks out matters a *lot* for Runte's thesis.  Golden Gate NRA sits on prime real estate in America's most crowded city, and is hardly "worthless" land.  The historic sites on the eastern seaboard lie in the most valuable parts of Boston, New York and Philadelphia - not to mention the National Mall and other sites in Washington DC.  Fredericksburg/Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Manassas, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga/Chattanooga and other battlefields are subject to strong development pressures and surrounded by suburban growth.  Cuyahoga, Santa Monica Mountains, Cape Cod, and other parks would make attractive up-scale suburbs and second homes if they were not protected.

Clearly the "cultural" and "recreational" parks differ from the scenic and monumental parks, and they differ in precisely the ways most damaging to Runte's worthless lands thesis.  Though Runte has given us a classic history of the parks as we have traditionally thought of them, we need a new approach to the history of the national park system as a whole.  The literature has emphasized scenery, wildlife, geology and science but not culture and history.  Though Runte begins with American cultural nationalism, he does not fit the cultural and historical parks into his vision of the system as a whole.
2527187
This is the companion book for the PBS series on the national parks directed by Ken Burns.  Much of the book was used as script for Ken Burns' documentary on the parks.  This makes it very readable but also does strange things to the cadences - -  some things are just meant to be spoken aloud, not read on a page.

The photography is beautiful, and provides a nice sample of the parks. It includes not just the majestic scenery of the parks but historic images. If you are looking for a pure photography books, you'll be frustrated by the historic black-and-whites and by the detailed, book-length text.

If you want a history of the parks, this will provide a good introduction but not the best. The text largely follows the orthodox history of the national parks, with a mostly pro-NPS position. One might take issue with the National Park Service from either the Left or the Right, from a more strictly preservationist position focused on wildlife and ecosystems, or from a "wis use" perspective that would like to see more resource development and greater scope for private business in park tourism. The centrist position of Duncan and Burns is probably close to the views of the American public, so you may not notice the politics in here.

The book has one major advantage over the film - - it includes the less well-known parks. The film focused overwhelmingly on Yellowstone and Yosemite, and a few national parks appeared only as part of a photo montage.  (Twelve hours of film and 58 national parks would allow each one 25 minutes if you wanted; there was time for a couple minutes for Isle Royale and other "minor" parks.)  Those less well-known parks make appearances here, often as "sidebars" of a page or so.