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.
Find the Best Hikes and Backpacking Trips in California’s Sierra Nevada The rush of trekking through nature, the thrill of experiencing new places, the reward of discovering beautiful sights—all of this awaits in the Sierra Nevada. For more than 50 years, this definitive guidebook has led readers along the top trails between Walker Pass and the southern border of Yosemite National Park. Now, with the revised and updated edition, let hiking experts Elizabeth Wenk and Mike White show you the way. Sierra South is the award-winning guide that features 80 meticulously selected trips, from new routes to old favorites. Traverse the stunning wilderness areas and national forests of the region, including Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Park, John Muir Wilderness, Ansel Adams Wilderness, and many more. The trips are organized around major highways and roads, so it’s easy to choose your next adventure. Just pick an area, drive there, and go hiking. Inside you’ll find 84 trips that range from quick overnighters to 12-day excursions Complete trip details, including day-by-day trail descriptions, GPS waypoints, and elevation data 41 trailhead maps that show the routes for every trip Beginner tips and trusted advice on camping, fishing, and bear safety Information on side trips, geology, natural history, and more Planning your trip into the southern Sierra backcountry is easier than ever before. For additional hiking and backpacking opportunities, see the companion guide Sierra North. Both titles are recipients of a National Outdoor Book Award.
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.
South of the border, a spectacular range of ancient volcanoes rises from the desert floor just a few miles from the Sea of Cortez. Virtually untraveled, the Sierra Pinacate in northwestern Mexico beckons adventurers and scientists. Here, in words and pictures, is a remarkable introduction to this place of almost surreal beauty. Sometimes veiled in clouds or dust storms, the Pinacate have long been shrouded in mystery as well. From prehistoric times until today, people of Sonora have told tales of giants, men and animals, bottomless pits, endless tunnels, hostile Indians, smoking caverns, and ever-present dangers found in the Pinacate. This book takes readers deep into the heart of this fascinating area. Julian Hayden, who worked and traveled in the Pinacate for four decades, introduces the natural history, archaeology, geology, and human history of the area. Spectacular color photographs by Jack Dykinga capture the magic and the isolation of this stunning region. Hayden's text is presented in both English and Spanish. The Mexican government has already declared the Pinacate an officially protected biosphere reserve; still pending is its inclusion in the Man and the Biosphere program of the United Nations. More than a natural history, The Sierra Pinacate is an elegant appreciation of a place of wonder.
From 1754 to 1755, the slave ship Hare completed a journey from Newport, Rhode Island, to Sierra Leone and back to the United States—a journey that transformed more than seventy Africans into commodities, condemning some to death and the rest to a life of bondage in North America. In this engaging narrative, Sean Kelley painstakingly reconstructs this tumultuous voyage, detailing everything from the identities of the captain and crew to their wild encounters with inclement weather, slave traders, and near-mutiny. But most importantly, Kelley tracks the cohort of slaves aboard the Hare from their purchase in Africa to their sale in South Carolina. In tracing their complete journey, Kelley provides rare insight into the communal lives of slaves and sheds new light on the African diaspora and its influence on the formation of African American culture. In this immersive exploration, Kelley connects the story of enslaved people in the United States to their origins in Africa as never before. Told uniquely from the perspective of one particular voyage, this book brings a slave ship's journey to life, giving us one of the clearest views of the eighteenth-century slave trade.
With this book in hand, hikers can spend their days wandering in wildflower meadows, hiking to cragged peaks, or swimming in cobalt-blue lakes in the Sierra Nevada, and then settle into a deck chair at sunset to enjoy the alpenglow. Hot Showers, Soft Beds, & Dayhikes in the Sierra describes 112 carefully chosen dayhikes in Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, John Muir, Ansel Adams, Desolation, and Emigrant wilderness areas, and more. Many hikes have easy-through-strenuous options, and every hike listed is in close proximity to one or more quality accommodations (over 80 cabins, B&Bs, motels, lodges, guest ranches, and resorts are described).
The period following Mexico's war with the United States in 1847 was characterized by violent conflicts, as liberal and conservative factions battled for control of the national government. The civil strife was particularly bloody in south central Mexico, including the southern state of Oaxaca. In Sons of the Sierra, Patrick McNamara explores events in the Oaxaca district of Ixtlan, where Zapotec Indians supported the liberal cause and sought to exercise influence over statewide and national politics. Two Mexican presidents had direct ties to Ixtlan district: Benito Juarez, who served as Mexico's liberal president from 1858 to 1872, was born in the district, and Porfirio Diaz, president from 1876 to 1911, had led a National Guard battalion made up of Zapotec soldiers throughout the years of civil war. Paying close attention to the Zapotec people as they achieved greater influence, McNamara examines the political culture of Diaz's presidency and explores how Diaz, who became increasingly dictatorial over the course of his time in office, managed to stay in power for thirty-five years. McNamara reveals the weight of memory and storytelling as Ixtlan veterans and their families reminded government officials of their ties to both Juarez and Diaz. While Juarez remained a hero in their minds, Diaz came to represent the arrogance of Mexico City and the illegitimacy of the "Porfiriato" that ended with the 1910 revolution.
