Customer Reviews

Exploring the Southern Sierra: East Side

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In his brief life, Jim Jenkins mapped out much of the Southern Sierra, including the Pacific Crest Trail in the region, and wrote two detailed guidebooks. Since his death in 1979 at the age of 27 his mother, Ruby Jenkins, has continued his work and updated his books on the region.

This book is loaded with information on the geology, flora and fauna of the Southern Sierra. It also includes an excellent map of the region which is almost worth the price of the book. But the heart of the book is the descriptions of 150 trips in the Southern Sierra, and it is this part that is difficult to use. Unlike most guidebooks, trail descriptions and directions to the trailhead are in separate parts of the book. This necessitates a lot of flipping through the book. And, while the trips described by the book are broken down geographically, they are not separated by type. I would prefer to see climbs, drives, and bike routes in a separate section of the book than hikes. Still, this is the most comprehensive guide to the area, and very informative. Hopefully ease of use will improve in the next edition.

. . . and as another reviewer notes, this is the only detailed guide to the area. Ruby Jenkins passed away last year, so this 1994 edition is likely to be the last ever. And there have been changes--for example, the 2000 Manter Meadow wildfire destroyed most of the Domeland Wilderness Area, focus of several trips in the book, so readers are advised to avoid Domeland hikes.

I have found that members of the Kern River Valley Hiking Club, a group founded by Ruby Jenkins and accessible on a certain website, regularly take trips described in the book and respond to questions about current conditions, obscure directions and the like with good humor.

This 1992 edition is still a wonderful guide to the large area covered. My wife and I recently used the book to greatly enhance our touring, camping, and hiking experience during a trip to the Kern Plateau.