Day Hikes from the River: A Guide to 75 Hikes from Camps on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park [Paperback]

Tom Martin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 9, 1999

Ever wonder where Harry McDonald carved his initials on a tree during the ill fated 1889 Stanton Brown Expedition through Grand Canyon? Did you know about the hike out to the Rim at South Canyon? How about the short hike to the petroglyphs at Tanner, or the location of the water jug filling spot at Phantom Ranch? Do you know there are 3 pull-in spots to access Matkatamiba Canyon? Ever wonder what the hike to Mooney Falls in Havasu is like, or what the winter sun potential at Tuckup is like? Did you know there are some amazing narrows at 193 Mile, or what the summer shade at Parashant is like? Have you seen the Rock Art at 202 Mile, and did you know there's a water source just a few miles downriver from there?

In DAY HIKES FROM THE RIVER, author, hiker and river runner Tom Martin offers river runners through Grand Canyon National Park the first text on exploring Grand Canyon National Park from the Colorado River. Besides a description of each hike, the text includes the best camps to stage the hike from. Information on winter and summer sun exposure, along with pertinent pull-in information is also provided where needed. Each hike description includes images from USGS topo maps with the hike clearly marked on the map.

This book is for the river runner who wants to increase their options for activities and gain a greater appreciation of what rafting in Grand Canyon has to offer, besides running great whitewater. This guide identifies many camps that are not listed in any other guidebook. This book is intended to be used by river runners to expand their knowledge base beyond the most heavily visited attraction sites on the river. While this book includes every heavily visited site on the River, it expands river runners options to include 60 other wonderful places to visit in the most Grand of Canyons.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tom Martin has been hiking in Grand Canyon from river rafting trips since 1969. He has participated on scientific rafting trips as a field technician, worked as a commercial river guide, and participated on private rafting trips. With four first ascents through the Redwall Limestone and numerous ascents of Grand Canyon named buttes in day hikes from the river, the author has hiked enough of Grand Canyon to be able to say "Of the cat that is Grand Canyon, I have seen one hair." Tom co-founded the Grand Canyon Private Boaters Association, and currently works as a physical therapist at the Grand Canyon Clinic.

Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Vishnu Temple Press; 1st edition (October 9, 1999)
• ISBN-10: 0967459508
• ISBN-13: 978-0967459509
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,971,333 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Day Hikes in Grand Canyon National Park, January 25, 2000

By 

Bob Anderson (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Day Hikes from the River: A Guide to 75 Hikes from Camps on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park (Paperback)

In his book, "Day Hikes from the River," Tom Martin describes 75 day-hikes that begin at the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. All of the hikes described in Toms' book contain a narrative discussion of the hike followed by a topographic map. The narrative discussion covers where to begin the hike, the route to be followed, prominent landmarks, and points of difficulty. These discussions are quite detailed and provide a great deal of information that is often left out of other guide books. The topographic maps are sufficiently enlarged as to be readable and contain pretty much the same information as the narrative discussion but in a very helpful graphic format. The difficulty of the hikes detailed in Tom's book range from easy walks to demanding hikes that should only be attempted by experienced Canyon hikers.

The intended audience of Tom's book are river runners, and I'm sure they will find Tom's book to be a valuable resource. However, many of the hikes described in Tom's book are equally applicable to those who walk, rather than boat, into the Canyon. For example, three of the hikes described in Tom's book begin at Nankoweap Delta, a popular destination of backpackers. Similarly, Tom describes a number of hikes in the Thunder River/Deer Creek area, another popular destination of backpackers.

I've done a number of the hikes described in Tom's book, and it is my experience that his description of these hikes are very accurate. Also, many of the hikes described in Tom's book are not contained in any other book or publication. I recommend Tom's book to both Grand Canyon river runners and backpackers.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT IDEAS FOR DAY HIKES IN THE GRAND CANYON, October 31, 1999

By 

DAVID LEVINE (Colorado Springs, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Day Hikes from the River: A Guide to 75 Hikes from Camps on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park (Paperback)

This is a great book describing hikes & rest stops at the usual stops along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. What's more, it describes in full a lot of hikes not usually done or known about, which means they'll be less crowded. But they're just as scenic. The author tells where they are, how far they can be, and what to look for along the way. This book is recommended for the first timer on the river, and the veteran who is looking for more than than the usual tourist stops for a hike.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't go boating without it!, December 11, 2000

By 

J. Wesley (Grand Canyon, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Day Hikes from the River: A Guide to 75 Hikes from Camps on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park (Paperback)

I purchased a copy of Tom Martin's book "Day Hikes From the River - a Guide to 75 Hikes from Camps on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park," and have greatly enjoyed browsing through it. Great job, Tom! The maps and descriptions are excellent. I sure wish I'd had this book on previous trips down the Canyon. I keep thinking "dang, if only I'd known to hike a little further and then head up that nose," or "I can't believe I floated right by that spot every time without stopping," or whatever. It seems to me that a lot of river runners tend to congregate at a relatively few well known hikes and other points of interest, and I hope that this book will tend to spread people out over a larger number of sites. With the help of the book I'm already thinking up an itinerary of new hikes for my next trip.