Customer Reviews

Canyoneering Arizona, Revised Edition

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I will come out up front and say this book was a disappointment. I have a couple other of Tyler William's books, including Paddling Arizona and Grand Canyon Side Hikes, and have enjoyed his work in other publications and periodicals. He is fantastic writer and really conveys the beauty of places and often has good anecdotes to go with them. Unfortunately, he is internally caught in a conflict regarding the places he writes about, and laying out the access to the places he writes about. He even starts the book out with the phrase "I Hate Guidebooks". As a result, this book suffers horribly, and it is a middle-of-the-road guide at best, when it could be something truly amazing instead.
Tyler is absolutely correct when he says Arizona is a land of canyons more than any other state in the nation. And as such, many many of these are unique, special locations that often take some adventuring to get to. I can understand the desire to keep a place like that secret or at least to a limited audience, so if you have a problem with divulging it's location, why would you? Tyler's internal conflict is clearly revealed in this book, as he struggles to write about the fantastic places in this book, while also attempting to keep them somewhat shrouded in mystery.
There are two types of guidebooks- the kind that lay out everything well, with good maps and directions, designed to showcase places for people who really aren't ever likely to visit them in person. And then there are the guidebooks that think by providing the tiniest, teeniest, littlest bits of scraps of information, it will inspire you to get up and go have the kind of epic adventure the author had to get to the selected destinations. Tyler's fits into this category. And while it is a good idea, authors that do that often forget that probably 75% of the people that will buy that book wont ever go to any of the places mentioned, and that out of the 25% that do, likely only 5 to 10% of those people will have the skills, gear, and ability to go out and accomplish some of the routes listed. Most people that buy guidebooks are armchair adventurers, or weekend warriors at the most. You have to figure anyone who owns a whole sling of canyoneering gear is going to be smart enough to come up with his own info sources. Providing too little information is a recipe for disaster, and that is when you get people stuck in dangerous places because they either thought they could do it, or were un-prepared because of the given description.
A good example of a good guidebook is the Exploring Utah series by Michael Kelsey. He lays out everything in detail, with easy to follow instructions, because he knows the people that will be following in his steps are usually not going to be the outdoor experts that he is. As such it's very straightforward, with lots of tips and details to get you in and out, and keep you as safe as possible. There are of course, some who have berated and even publicly called him out for doing so, but in the end, when you consider the average ability of the reader of these books, the vast majority needs something like that, rather than just a half a page scrap of limited info.
Take for example, the info bar on the Hellsgate Gorge section of Tonto Creek. This is a 22 mile demanding hike through three serious mountain gorges, each replete with their own rock type and it's own set of difficulties. It takes 4 days to complete, and is a very serious outing even for someone who is fit and able to accomplish something like that. And the description is less than 5 paragraphs long. It barely fills one small page. Again, for maybe 2 to 5 percent of the population, this is enough. But for the other 95 to 98% of us, it's just not enough to safely get in and out. In short, its just inviting disaster.
Tyler, your book is such a good idea on paper. Unfortunately your internal conflict over providing access vs hiding access leaves much information to be desired and your book suffers as a result. Perhaps if everyone lived in Sedona and was as physically active as you it would be a great read. But as it is, it is just a shell of what it could be, and is very disappointing. But I do look forward to you work in the future, I just hope its something that you don't carry so close to your heart that it affects the final product.

I bought the first edition of this book many years ago, dreaming of the fun I would have wading through cool canyons in the hot Arizona summers. Now that I actually get a chance to go out to some of these places, I appreciate the book even more. The revised edition is a bit fatter than I remember the original being. The canyon ratings are inconsistent; some use the ACA rating systems, and some are qualitative (Hard, Easy). The maps are just OK; you might want some topos to back up his descriptions if the site involves a long approach. Other than those two complaints, this book is a pretty good overview of what's out there.

I felt the same as the review done by Yetigonecrazy, but after buying this book I realize Yetigonecrazy is way nicer than me. Bottom line, this book could get you lost, stranded... or worse.

Let's look at some of the "features" of this book:
-there are about 61 canyon trips described, however "22 are hikes, 31 are canyoneering routes, and 8 are technical canyons", but no list of which are which
-no index in the back
-some canyons are referred to by different names than what most locals call them
-poor driving directions
-no list of gear needed for each canyon trip
-no list of technical features (i.e., how many rappels, how long, etc.) for each trip
-no GPS coordinates
-no topo maps
-no worthwhile features on the maps
-no parking or trailhead markings on the map
-p.s. - Have I mentioned how bad the maps are?
-most canyon trips are described in 3-4 paragraphs, or about one page. That's one page... including the quick facts, driving directions, and trip summery.
-and the one that kills me most: "...but my proudest achievement in this revised edition is what you don't see. They are the two canyons we'll call 'Spotted Owl Chasm,' and 'Coati Creek.' You'll have to discover those two very special places on your own, because thy're not in this book."

WTF?! Your "proudest achievement" is providing less information in a revised edition, in an already barren guide book, because you want to keep it for yourself? Here's a tip Tyler: If you don't want people to go in "your" canyons, don't write a F'ing guide book! Hello?!

I'm sure you're a nice guy. I'm sure you're an advanced canyoneer. I'd even like you to show me some of these special places, but you might as well do a recall on the book if you feel so strongly about keeping people out. Your "book" could easily be a one-sheet titled "A list of canyons I've done", and provided for free. I'm returning it to get my money back.

Folks, your money is more wisely spent on "Arizona: Technical Canyoneering" by Todd Martin.

One star because some of the pictures are OK. Overly harsh review? Probably, but please use the "look inside" feature, the library, or a friends copy before you buy this.