Best Easy Day Hikes Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks [Paperback]

Laurel Scheidt (Author)

Book Description

Series: Best Easy Day Hikes Series | Publication Date: January 1, 2002

This handy pocket guide provides maps and detailed descriptions of the best day hiking trails in California's popular Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

A hiker's paradise of trails awaits you in California's Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. This guidebook leads you past tranquil waterfalls, up mountains offering spectacular vistas, and through groves of giant sequoias, the largest living organisms on the planet.Best Easy Day Hikes Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks includes concise descriptions and detailed maps for twenty mostly short, easy-to-follow trails that lead to some of the parks' most scenic destinations. With hikes varying from half-hour strolls to full-day adventures, this guidebook is for everyone, including families. (4 1/4 x 7, 96 pages, maps)

About the Author

Laurel Scheidt is a freelance writer and veteran hiker. She makes her home in Modesto, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Falcon; 1st edition (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762710721
• ISBN-13: 978-0762710720
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,537,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #83 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Travel > Reference & Tips > Food & Lodging > Parks & Campgrounds

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Clarification: A Review of 'Best Easy Day Hikes Seqoia and Kings Canyon', August 16, 2006

By 

Fritz R. Ward "dayhiker" (Crestline, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Best Easy Day Hikes Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (Paperback)

I normally would not review a book that already has eight extended commentaries which cover every positive and negative aspect of the author's text, but there is apparently some confusion among either reviewers, Amazon editors, or both as to which book is actually under review. Laurel Scheidt is the author of two books on hiking in Sequoia and Kings Canyon. The first is a comprehensive hiking guide to the parks and the second is a guide to short day hikes in the region. For whatever reason, all the reviews posted for the latter, 'Best Easy Day Hikes: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks' are actually of the larger comprehensive work. I'm not sure why this occured, but the result is a misleading impression of what 'Best Easy Dayhikes' is all about. (Hopefully my review of 'Dayhikes' will not also be posted under the 'Hiking Sequoia' title as well.) This little book does not talk about the ascent of Mt. Whitney (thank goodness), is not a comprehensive guide to the parks, and the controversy about maps and backpacking routes is simply not applicable to this book at all.

Best Easy Day Hikes lists several hikes in Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and the nearby Jennie Lakes Wilderness that are under 6 miles, relatively level (they have less than 2000 feet of elevation gain--there are very few truly "level" hikes in these parks) and are readily accessible to families with children and those who, like myself, are no longer as fit as they once were. Mileage, elevation data, directions to the trailhead, and short sketch maps are for the most part adequate.

Scheidt includes several classic walks in the park: The Congress Trail, General Grant Tree Loop, Mist Falls, and Cresent Meadow. These are all "must do" hikes if you only have a day or so in the parks as happens all too often with our hectic schedules. Other trails listed are a little less well traveled so hikers can find some semblance of solitude in this sometimes hectic portion of the Sierras. The trip to Weaver Lake falls into this category.

This book merits 3 stars for doing what it sets out to do reasonably well. It lists a number of nice short hikes in various parts of the park. I would like to see a little more natural and local history to give it a higher rating. I would also note that this book is hardly exhaustive of all the truly easy and scenic day hikes in the region. As several reviewers (of the other book) including the author have noted, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and in mine the author has left out too many nice hikes (the Manzanita and Azalea loop in Grant Grove and Buena Vista Peak above Redwood Canyon) to give the book a 5 star rating. Still, unless or until Steve Sorenson's guides are updated, this is the best guide to day hikes in the parks currently in print.

2 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inept hiker thinks this is an outdoor bible of info., December 17, 2002

By 

Lynn Fay (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best Easy Day Hikes Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (Paperback)

I saw this book being written in it's infancy stage and knew I would become addicted to hiking even though I was a beginner the book was clear and concise and gave me the confidence that I sorely needed.
I look forward to more books