Lonely Planet Hiking in the Sierra Nevada

Picked this up for an extended Northern California hiking and riding trip. I purchased about four others as well and I used all of them as each has a little something different. Not a single one was useless and none warranted less than 4 stars. I would reccomend doing the same rather than just picking one for your trip.

This guidebook really is worthy of the award it won. It describes over 60 hikes in the Sierras the bulk of which are long day hikes or backpack trips. Each route has a topographical map included, detailed descriptions and alternative routes or side trips included. What makes this guide fairly unique are the many (very beautiful) color plates and some wonderful sidebars on local history, including a discussion of arborglyphs left by Basque sheepherders and the fight by the climbing community to save "Camp 4" in Yosemite Valley. Nonetheless, I cannot give the book 5 stars. There are several minor errors in the book. Arrowheads have not been found atop Mt. Whitney: that is an apocryphal story that dates back to Clarence King. Similarly, the claim that Mt. Rose is the only 10,000 ft. peak with a trail to the summit in the Tahoe area is untrue. The Tahoe Rim Trail goes right over the summit of Relay Peak and this even appears on their own map of the Mt. Rose hike. The main drawback of this book, however, is that it really only covers the popular backcountry hikes in the range. The book lists only 8 hikes in Sequoia and Kings Canyon and these are the premier hiking parks in California. So, while this book is good if you really have no idea of what is available in the Sierras, hikers with some foreknowledge, or those seeking solitude, will need to supplement this book with other sources.

"Hiking in the Sierra Nevada is a user friendly, rock-solid guidebook with clear writing, useful topographic maps, inviting photos, and it's conveniently sized to fit in the side pocket of your pack." - NOBA award reviewWinner, 2002 National Outdoor Book Award for Best Outdoor Adventure Guidebook: Hiking in the Sierra Nevada. By John Mock and Kimberley O'Neil. Published by Lonely Planet Publications, Footscray, Australia. ISBN 1740592727. The National Outdoor Book Awards (NOBA) is the outdoor world's largest and most prestigious book award program. It is a non-profit, educational program, sponsored by the NOBA Foundation, Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education, and Idaho State University.