Customer Reviews

Hike America Northern California (Hike America Series)

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As the author of this book, I would like to address some of the charges leveled by "disappointed reader".
First off, let me say that I, too was surprised to learn that Fern Canyon and Gold Bluffs Beach were both altered substantially in the past by hydraulic mining. The scars have healed well, and no obvious signs of human activity remain. Nevertheless, I have this information on the authority of the national park and state park historians and archeologists. I suggest that "disappointed reader" check out any of the several local history books available in the Prairie Creek visitor center bookstore for more information on this fascinating subject.

Below are my comments on the other "errors":

-Fortuna is listed as the nearest town to Bull Creek Flats because it has restaurants, camping/hiking supplies, and other services readers are likely to be searching for when they head to a town. Smaller towns with no services are closer, but of little use to hikers.
-While horses are not officially allowed on the Bull Creek Flats trail, the south side of the creek occasionally sees some unauthorized equestrian use. Hence the addition of "equestrians" under the "Other trail users" heading.
-A phone call placed a few minutes ago to Humboldt Redwoods State Park confirmed that the Giant Braid is still standing. The Flatiron Tree fell after the book was written (2000).
-In any book of this size, a few errors are inevitable, and the 900ft. elevation gain for Bull Creek Flats is one of them. That will be corrected in the next edition, but if readers turn to the page with the hike profile, they will see a more detailed representation of the hike's elevation.
-I do not encourage anyone to cross the creek by wading or log crossing, and warn them to be careful if they do attempt it, as it can be dangerous.
-The numerous redwood stumps in the Skunk Cabbage Creek drainage testify that redwoods did indeed once grow there, and the stumps' flat tops suggest strongly that they were logged.
-If you read the passage carefully, you will learn that skunk cabbage gets its scent from the single specialized leaf (spathe) that forms a yellow hood over the flower spike, not from the green foliage, although the latter do produce the scent when crushed.
-There are numerous conflicting claims to "world's tallest tree", and not enough space in the book to document them all. I stuck with the claim of the National Park Service.

I can assure potential readers that this book contains over 350 pages of useful information about hikes in Northern California. It took nearly two years to research and write; it has the best maps of any hiking book I've seen (kudos to the cartography folks at Globe-Pequot); and the format allows for easy navigation on the trail without wading through text to find simple directions. I did my research for this book, especially for Humboldt County. Unlike "disappointed reader", I live here.

Happy hiking!

Dan Brett

I get cranky when a book disappoints me so I hope I'm not being too critical about this one.

While not a native of Humboldt County, I'm very familiar with many of the trails in the county. When this Hike America book was recently given to me, I eagerly looked up one of my favorite trails in Prairie Creek: Fern Canyon & James Irvine Trail. I was floored when I read the author's claim that hydraulic mining created Fern Canyon. There is no historic or geologic evidence that hydraulic mining ever took place at Fern Canyon. The steep canyon is obviously the result of erosion by Home Creek, the stream that flows through the gorge.

Ok, the author blew it on Fern Canyon but what about another one of my favorite redwood trails: Bull Creek Flats. I first read the "Quick Specs" section. I question his claim that the trail rises 900 feet; it's on bottomland and surely doesn't rise more than 200 feet, if that. He lists Fortuna as the closest town but what about Scotia, Redcrest or Weott, all of which are much closer to the trailhead. He also states that the trail is open to horses...wrong! So much for the Quick Specs. In the trail description the author suggests wading across Bull Creek or crossing on downed logs during the off-season when the summer bridges are removed. Bad idea! Bull Creek has washed out several permanent bridges due to high water flows and you really need to know what you're doing before you attempt to wade this creek during the off-season. Forget about crossing the creek on downed logs; it's a good way to end up with a broken leg. I'd check with the park folks before attempting to cross Bull Creek when the summer bridges are out. The author doesn't mention that two of his highlight features, the Flat Iron Tree and Giant Braid, fell a number of years ago. In the "Trail Description" section the author recommends returning along the south side of Bull Creek yet in the "Miles Directions" and map he has the reader hike the Rockefeller Loop and return on the north side of the creek (for a total of three Bull Creek crossings). Apparently he became as confused as I did when I tried coordinating the Trail Description and the Miles Directions. Rather than having to flip back and forth between the two sections, why can't the info be integrated like in most trail guides?

I'm familiar with only seven or eight of the 50 trails in this book, but I found more errors in the few trails I've hiked. The logging that took place in Skunk Cabbage Creek was spruce, not redwood. The odor from the skunk cabbage plant comes predominately from the flower spike (spadix), not the leaves. You won't notice a skunky smell on this trail unless you hike it when the flowers are in bloom. Gold Bluff Beach was not created by hydraulic mining but rather by the ocean. (The bluffs were there long before any miners arrived.) It's been at least 10 years since the "Tallest Tree" in the Tall Trees Grove was considered the world's tallest plant. Last I read, there's a tree in Humboldt Redwoods that is now thought to be the tallest tree, but they keep find taller ones. Also, the guide really should have included a warning about how steep, rough and dusty the road to the Tall Trees Grove is. BTW: If you're renting a vehicle, you better make sure the rental agreement permits travel on this type of road.

In all fairness to the author, perhaps he just didn't do enough research on the Humboldt County hikes and the rest of the book is accurate. However, I've lost confidence in the author and plan on trading in this book for more reliable guides to Northern California's hiking trails.

P.S. Why on earth was a full-page article about the Kinetic Sculpture race included in the Headwaters hike section?

Alot of what is in this book is inaccurate and false. The writer needs to take a course in how to do research and needs to learn how to verify facts. The book also lacks in details and concise directions on how to follow the trails. Very poorly written.

This book is kewl...it talks about alot of stuff ranging from arteries clogging while hiking and alot of other stuff about the weather and what kind of snakes to avoid while traveling on the paths in the redwoods, etc... This is an awesome book! Get it before it sells out...