Hiking & Backpacking Big Sur: A Complete Guide to the Trails of Big Sur, Ventana Wilderness, and Silver Peak Wilderness (Hiking and Backpacking) (Paperback)

by Analise Elliot (Author) "Big Sur. The name evokes images of a wild and rugged coast..." (more)
Key Phrases: ceanothus thickets, hitchhiking ticks, overgrown with poison oak, Big Sur, Carmel River, Santa Lucia Range (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Wilderness Press West: Hiking/Backpacking Guides 102059 By Wilderness Press

Product Details

• Paperback: 323 pages
• Publisher: Wilderness Press (January 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0899973264
• ISBN-13: 978-0899973265
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #147,450 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The 8th edition a welcomed replacement for my well worn 6th edition, August 5, 2006

By	Timecheck "backpack45.com - Camino Chronicle... (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sierra South: Backcountry Trips in Californias Sierra Nevada (Paperback)

Sierra South is another one of those irreplaceable Wilderness Press guides. For anyone hiking in the southern Sierras, this is the must have book. The eighth edition is about 12 years later than my 6th edition, and has taken advantage of the advances in printing technology. There are good maps imbedded in the book, gray shading to highlight text of special interest, and gray section tabs visible on the edge of the book.

The book starts out with good basic information for anyone hiking in the wilderness. For example, one tip that I would have applied last week was to do stream crossings angled upstream, so that the force of the water will not cause your knees to buckle. Since we didn't have this info yet, my wife and I angled downstream, and the force of the water caught her by surprise, causing the bottom of her pack to hit the water.

The organization is now by state access highway, Highway 41, 198, etc. This is useful for quickly determining practical two or three day trips. The book is now 6 by 9 instead of 4.5 by 8, so you will probably resort to cutting out the trip you choose, and carry it with you.The larger size allows more photographs and easier to read text. As in the old book, there are elevation profiles for each trip route. It looks to me as if they have extended the coverage slightly farther north, as my old book didn't have the highway 41 trips. For those GPS enabled hikers you will find gps waypoints for destinations and significant junctions.

When I read through Sierra South, it seems like there are a lot more destinations than in the old book, but the new book has 84 trips, and the old one 100 trips. In any event, the new book can keep you busy for many summers.

My one suggestion for future editions is that the overall map give some indication of where Highway 41 is. I had to check the old Sierra North map.

If you are going to hike the southern Sierra, this is a book you need to have.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the best..., July 10, 2006

By	J. Janssen (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sierra South: Backcountry Trips in Californias Sierra Nevada (Paperback)

Even though TW has "retired" and they've changed the name (made obligatory by the elimination of the even 100 hikes in previous editions) this information packed volume is still the best all around (with the companion Sierra North) hiking guide covering the Sierra Nevada in print today. This edition is organized a little differently and the spiffy fold out map is missing from the back cover but the same reliable and up to date information is available for both arm chair hiking and trip planning.

A great many of the same routes are included as were in the previous volumes and it appears they have been updated with current (and depressing) requlatory requirements and accurate descriptions of the state of repair or disrepair of primitive camp sites and historic markers. Additional trips are included that appear to be more "moderate". Again up to date trail and camp site information along with hazards and fishing data are included.

The only caveat I would add is to take the somewhat nostalgic pining for the "good old days" with a grain of salt. While it's true water quality degradation has made mandatory the use of filters or other types of purification and black bears (and too many friggin' hikers) have forced more and more regulations and quotas on a land that once was wide open for exploration; there's still more "wild" here than in just about any other locale in the country. And that's the same stuff that's drawn legions of backpackers, mountaineers and naturalists ever since John Muir "discovered" it over a hundred years ago. It's still there waiting for you...

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, On Track, Vital, August 27, 2006

By	goodmanse (cambridge, ma) - See all my reviews

The book was wonderful to have on our trip to the Central Coast. Objective information with enough opinion and subjective information to help us decide where, how, when for each hike. The back of the book with the top list organized by theme was very helpful. One way the book could have been better is with a cross-reference chart... so if you want both "ocean" and "redwoods" as themes you could look it up, instead of a bunch of page flipping. The author does a good job appealing to a wide range, level of hikers, rare in a guide book.