Customer Reviews

Hiking the Escalante

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Having hiked the Escalante canyons a lot before reading this book, I found upon reading it that the book seemed to match my memory of places fairly exactly. That doesn't mean a lot, so I took it with me on a few of the more backcountry trips and found it so extremely accurate and useful that I am now using it as the primary information source for some trips to areas that are new to me in the Escalante region. I'd definitely recommend this book.

The Escalante is a vast area of great charms. This is a nice hiking guide to some of the more accessible areas of the Escalante. These hikes are not for the faint of heart - they require good backcountry skills. What makes the book truly great is Rudi's natural history background. Extensive drawings and text add richness to our visits to the red rock country of the Escalante. 43 hikes listed, drawings, maps and many b&w photographs.

Hiking the Escalante Wilderness can get very confusing even if you are proficient at the use of USGS topo maps. Hence, whenever I have gone I have taken this book. He devoted a lot of time to not only giving you a much-needed guidebook, but also to giving you a lot of history, biology, botany, and even deals with hundreds of side canyons/routes... But some of the information might be outdated (e.g. the pools in Death Hollow) and his descriptions that seem clear can be vague (how to safely scale the last 50 yards to Phipps arch); there are other, wrong, places that look exactly as he describes the correct place (e.g, finding the mail route west and out of Death Hollow - there is a bend lower in the creek that looks the same, but is not the route). He also relies heavily upon his odometer readings to find trailheads and all car odometers don't jive with his readings.

This book has been the first to describe hikes in the Escalante
area. It contains most of the 'classic' routes. While it gives
a nice introduction to the flavor of the hike (what kind of terrain,
particular points of note, ...) it is not much help in not getting
lost in this beautiful, but finely sculptured area, where
navigation is tricky (unless you've entered the GPS age).
So, if you're an experienced by-map-and-compass(GPS) hiker
and want inspiration where to go, buy the book.
if you want step-by-step instructions
for the hike and detailed 'beta', you won't find it here.

I not only enjoyed reading this book, but found it extremely useful in planning my first trip to the Grand Staircase region. It gave me an accurate idea what to expect from each trail.

The product description is wrong. The ISBN is for a book that was published in 1985 (Second Printing in 1986), not 1999 as shown in the product description.

Amazon says:
# Paperback: 192 pages
# Publisher: Wasatch Publishers (December 1999)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 091527227X
# ISBN-13: 978-0915272273

But the above should be: Wasatch Publishers Inc (1985, 2nd printing 1986)

There is a newer edition available:

* ISBN: 0874806313
* ISBN-13: 9780874806311
* Format: Paperback, 189pp
* Publisher: University of Utah Press
* Pub. Date: May 1999


Would you really like to buy a 23+ year old hiking guide? Maybe you would, but it helps to know that when you're trying to make a choice.

I bought this book and went to the area covered.
And I advise anyone planning a trip there to change their plans.

It is hot, too hot.
There is no water or shade.
The flying insects, there are millions, bite every inch of unprotected skin.
Every plant has needles that leave you pierced.
The crawling creatures will find you where you sleep and bite you.
And for what - a bunch of red rocks and dirt.


Safer to stay in the car and look at it from the road.
Or better yet stay home.