|
Hiking Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (Hiking Guide Series) | 
 enlarge | Author: Laurel Scheidt
Publisher: Falcon
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $9.17
You Save: $7.78 (46%)
New (13) Used (12) from $6.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 123767
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 296
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.1 x 0.6
ISBN: 0762711221
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.510979486
EAN: 9780762711222
ASIN: 0762711221
Publication Date: March 1, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new Item. CD, DVD, Book, VHS more than 400 000 titles to choose from. ALL days Low Price !
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Discover towering groves of giant sequoia trees, crystalline trout rivers, jagged peaks and alpine meadows, and Mount Whitney in 100 of the best hikes in the parks, situated in California's rugged Sierra Nevada. Contains easy day hikes to challenging backpacking trips.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Hiking Sequoia and Kings Canyon September 29, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Extremely thorough and helpful!! Even illustrates the incline of trails.
Another Excellent Falcon Guide September 27, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
My wife and I have hiked most of the major national parks in the U.S. over the past 20 years. As a result, we have purchased many hiking guide books. We've found that the Falcon Guide series tend to be best overall. Their detailed (but not cluttered) trail maps are always excellent, the elevation profile charts are a huge help, and their standard format across all books makes it easy to go from park to park without re-learning a new system.
The Sequoia and Kings Canyon book is no exception. It follows the Falcon standard format and was very useful on our recent trip there. Using this book alone, I was able to select 10 fantastic hikes, and each time I felt like I knew what I was getting into based on the book's rich trail descriptions.
I especially appreciated the Highlights section at the top of each trail description. This allowed me to scan the book quickly to find which trails may interest us.
Another excellent resource is the "Trail Finder" section which lists the author's favorite hikes based on criteria such as "Hikes Along Streams", "Hikes with Great Views", "Hikes to Avoid if You Don't Want to See Many People."
But alas, no book is perfect, and this book (and all Falcon Guides) could be improved as follows:
1. Include an alphabetized index of trail names and other common features such as lakes, mountains, etc. So when a park ranger recommends we try the hike to "Panther Falls", we don't have to flip through 286 pages to find it.
2. Put all pertinent trail information (summary, map, elevation chart) for each hike on a single page so that I can rip that page out of the book and take it with me on the hike.
 Clarification: A Review of 'Best Easy Day Hikes Seqoia and Kings Canyon' August 17, 2006
14 out of 20 found this review helpful
I normally would not review a book that already has eight extended commentaries which cover every positive and negative aspect of the author's text, but there is apparently some confusion among either reviewers, Amazon editors, or both as to which book is actually under review. Laurel Scheidt is the author of two books on hiking in Sequoia and Kings Canyon. The first is a comprehensive hiking guide to the parks and the second is a guide to short day hikes in the region. For whatever reason, all the reviews posted for the latter, 'Best Easy Day Hikes: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks' are actually of the larger comprehensive work. I'm not sure why this occured, but the result is a misleading impression of what 'Best Easy Dayhikes' is all about. (Hopefully my review of 'Dayhikes' will not also be posted under the 'Hiking Sequoia' title as well.) This little book does not talk about the ascent of Mt. Whitney (thank goodness), is not a comprehensive guide to the parks, and the controversy about maps and backpacking routes is simply not applicable to this book at all.
Best Easy Day Hikes lists several hikes in Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and the nearby Jennie Lakes Wilderness that are under 6 miles, relatively level (they have less than 2000 feet of elevation gain--there are very few truly "level" hikes in these parks) and are readily accessible to families with children and those who, like myself, are no longer as fit as they once were. Mileage, elevation data, directions to the trailhead, and short sketch maps are for the most part adequate.
Scheidt includes several classic walks in the park: The Congress Trail, General Grant Tree Loop, Mist Falls, and Cresent Meadow. These are all "must do" hikes if you only have a day or so in the parks as happens all too often with our hectic schedules. Other trails listed are a little less well traveled so hikers can find some semblance of solitude in this sometimes hectic portion of the Sierras. The trip to Weaver Lake falls into this category.
This book merits 3 stars for doing what it sets out to do reasonably well. It lists a number of nice short hikes in various parts of the park. I would like to see a little more natural and local history to give it a higher rating. I would also note that this book is hardly exhaustive of all the truly easy and scenic day hikes in the region. As several reviewers (of the other book) including the author have noted, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and in mine the author has left out too many nice hikes (the Manzanita and Azalea loop in Grant Grove and Buena Vista Peak above Redwood Canyon) to give the book a 5 star rating. Still, unless or until Steve Sorenson's guides are updated, this is the best guide to day hikes in the parks currently in print.
 Considerations to ponder August 8, 2006
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I don't like giving bad reviews. In fact, I hate it. However, I'm indebted to give an honest appraisal of this book and explain why my wife and I agreed on a one-star rating. I've read the mostly glowing reviews from others and based my purchase of this book on them. One reviewer however, Candace Scott, gave only two stars. I now agree with her that the descriptions of each trail are flat and uninformative. The author makes some comments that space is limited and certain information is required -- both credible arguments. However, each hike has overly repetitive information. For example, each trail used by horses is prefaced by a rather lengthy section on horse etiquette. In my opinion, repetition like this can be written once in the beginning and referred to if needed. Other similar examples abound. The most glaring problem with this book it the repetition of the trials. For example, hike # 16 through 22 all begin using the same trail, each one being lengthened a bit to another destination -- leading to highly repetitive information and the unfortunate perception that you can go on essentially 7 different hikes. Clearly, this can be condensed. Lastly, there is little information of why you should go on a hike. What are you going to see? What is special about the destination? What special features of the widely varied terrain can you expect? I read this book cover-to-cover, hoping to get some useful information out of it. However, once in Sequoia, my wife and I found ourselves hiking a number of truly outstanding trails not referenced to in the book, and we went on a beautiful semi-loop backpacking trip over two passes and through some of the most interesting geographical terrain I've ever experienced in one area. This 30 mile backpacking trip is referenced, in parts, in the book, as day hikes to various destinations, again duplicating trail information, but the loop (conspicuously absent from this book are loop hikes) is not mentioned and many of the trails are not mentioned. Also lacking is some of the grand highlights, such as two passes we crossed and the startling scenery we witnessed. I highly recommend Sequoia as a grand destination. However, as the author states, we are entitled to our own opinions and my wife and I give this particular guide a very poor rating. It is the only guide book we have thrown away.
perfect hiking guide December 3, 2005
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Just spent a week in Kings Canyon-Sequoia. Took some wonderful hikes and would have been lost without this guide. Its true that the author does not wax poetic about the wonders along each trail but she tells you enough so you can make the decision about whether to take the hike or not. All the technical details and instructions where perfect for the hikes I took. Well worth the money and the only hiking guide I will carry when I visit this area again.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
