Hiking the California Coastal Trail, Volume 1: Oregon to Monterey (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

Bob Lorentzen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2002 | Series: Hiking the California Coastal Trail (Book 1)

Just 4 years after the debut of this ground-breaking series, the CCT has become an official state trail, its completion a priority. This 2nd edition updates the many changes on the CCT's north half with revised maps and text. This thorough guide details 600 CCT miles in 85 accessible sections, most offering easy day hikes, plus 12 great for backpacking. The concise, thorough descriptions support 60 detailed maps. Highlights include Redwood National Park, the whole Lost Coast, Pt. Reyes National Seashore, and San Francisco's gorgeous urban shore. Thirty-six features articles discuss history, geology, land use and attractions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An amazing book ... impressive." -- California Wild

"Indispensable to the beach-loving hiker." -- San Jose Mercury News

"Precise directions and maps ... A detailed guide and a concise almanac of shoreline lore." -- San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

Bob Lorentzen began writing and publishing in 1986 because the regional guidebooks people wanted were not being published. His four Hiker's hip pocket Guides have set a new standard of excellence for trail guides. He's been an active Coastwalk volunteer since 1987. Bob and his family love to explore new country and find new trails, and sometimes to simply sit and contemplate nature. He hiked nearly 300 miles on the California Coastal Trail Whole Hike of 1996. On that trek, Bob and Richard decided to write this book. Bob graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a degree in Community Studies.

Richard Nichols has been the Executive Director of Coastwalk since 1991, a Coastwalk volunteer since 1983. Before that he worked as a carpenter. He led the CCT Whole Hike of 1996, walking almost 1200 miles from Oregon to Mexico in 112 days. Richard and wife Brenda are enthusiastic hikers and explorers of the coast, deserts and mountains of California. He has worked on environmental issues in his hometown of Sebastopol in western Sonoma County for over 15 years, including instrumental work in wetlands preservation of the Laguna de Santa Rosa and other land use issues. Richard loves to read, watch movies, explore new territory, and create occasional pieces of assemblage art, several of which have been shown in galleries.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bored Feet Pubns; 2nd edition (July 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0939431246
• ISBN-13: 978-0939431243
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #767,986 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great resource for a spectacular trail, December 17, 2010

By 

pedestrian - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hiking the California Coastal Trail, Volume 1: Oregon to Monterey (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

My husband and I spent three weeks traveling up the California Coast using this guide and it served us very well. For starters it is of no fault of the authors of this book that the coastal trail is still incomplete (i.e. there are sections along the road) This has more to do with the privatization of the CA beaches and the difficulty to get the right-of-way to travel the coast.

Hiking near to a road may not be a wilderness experience but it allows for a more flexible trip, as we were able to make it to the Oregon border through very successful hitchhiking efforts. The coastal trail, unlike some of the more famous wilderness trail allows for a more European type of backpacking that can include an occasional motel and restaurant, consistent grocery shopping, and people to chat with along the way. It is a great opportunity to a more casual hiker to experience a long-distance hike without the isolation. That said there is still plenty of wild spaces as most of the car-bound world is concentrated and it's easy to step away from it.

The maps on this book are at a very walkable scale, unlike any road atlas you might have, this books' maps shows the turns and bends and trailheads at the necessary detail for traveling on foot. When your whole day only makes up a half inch of map, it's pretty hard to navigate.

This book also lists resources for the area including lodging options, park contact information, places where you'll need special permits and places that are difficult to cross on foot. The whole Lost Coast is away from the road and detailed in this book, though additional maps are helpful. This is an invaluable resource for traveling the California coast without a car, something everyone should get the chance to do at least once in life.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Little better than a road map., January 31, 2010

By 

Fire Boy - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hiking the California Coastal Trail, Volume 1: Oregon to Monterey (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

This book's content could be summed up in the phrase, hit the road. A California road atlas will provide most of the information offered in this book. The coastal trails, when present, parallel the Pacific Coast Highway, however, most of the "hiking" is walking on roads. Perhaps, the State of California will further develop a "Coastal Range" sojourn that would be detailed in a book such as this. Walking highways is not hiking.