Customer Reviews

Hiking Grand Staircase-Escalante and the Glen Canyon Region

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

On trying to follow the guide to one of the hikes, the Yellow Rock/Box of Paria River, we were fortunate to meet a BLM ranger as we were about to set out. It became clear that we weren't where we thought we were, and had we continued on, would have entered a confusing and unmarked maze of canyons instead of the entrance to the Box. This is the fault of this book - the maps are poorly labeled and confusing, and the directions (which usually start out by referring you back to some other hike, a poor strategy for a guide book) were, in this instance, just plain wrong, giving incorrect mileage to the point where we should have been. The two locator maps at the front of the book are especially bad, the first oriented perpendicular to the other covering the east part of the region, the second one showing the western part. They should be combined into one map across both pages, show the monument and park boundaries and have some kind of legend, along with better labels.
What we ended up using as a reference for the rest of the trip, on which we did four hikes, was, in fact, a place mat from a breakfast place in Escalante, which turned out to be much better organized, concise and accurate. On the front is an easy-to-understand map, clearly labeled, and on the back are brief descriptions of the principal backroads and the hikes along each one. This handy little sheet is actually easily found in most businesses in the area, for free.
Of course, a restaurant placemat doesn't give the level of detail contained in Mr. Adkison's book, which has several useful features, including good categorical summaries for each hike such as elevation gain and loss (including a line graph depicting this), difficulty ratings, hiking time, etc. It was inaccurate in one of those categories for the Yellow Rock hike, stating that no permit was required; the ranger corrected us on this count as well.
If this book were reorganized in the same manner as the place mat, with the good map of the back roads - there are several key ones: The Burr Trail, Hell's Backbone, and Cottonwood Canyon - and then listed the hikes attainable from each one, then it would be a lot more useful.

We used Hiking Grand Staircase-Escalante and the Glen Canyon Region for several hikes this summer and, despite some shortcomings, I would recommend it.
The trail descriptions are pretty realistic and give a good idea of what to expect on the hike. Based on these descriptions we picked our hikes and were never disappointed. The book describes the general character of the terrain, what you can expect to see, how difficult the hike is likely to be, etc., followed by a decent trail description.
Where the book needs improvement are the maps. The maps are OK to get a general idea, but NOT A SUBSTITUTE for proper planning of your trip. First they are a bit simplified (which is OK), second they are sometimes wrong (which can get you into trouble). The map for the Boulder Mail Trail, for example, has an incorrect scale bar which makes the hike appear much shorter than it really is (the text gives the correct information).
However, using this book as the sole information for your hike is not the smartest thing to begin with. In combination with the deLorme (or Benchmark) Utah Atlas and Gazetteer and a series of large scale topographic maps (USGS, Trails Illustrated) we never had any issues finding the trailhead or loosing the trail. So, consider this and similar books as a source of ideas, but do your homework, get the right maps etc. and you'll be fine.

The book contains many good hiking routes, but lacks the kind of detail and descriptive writing about the amazing landscapes (waterfalls, canyons, rivers, prehistoric ruins, cliffs, and other landmarks in general) that you would expect from such an incredible area. I don't know if this is the author's fault or the publisher, but I'm inclined to avoid books from either in the future. Also, like other reviewers have said, the maps are cheesy, and not very useful. DO NOT go on a trip to the area with only this book - you need either a book with much better maps, or even better, a detailed topographical map. If you're looking for a guidebook on this "new" area, I suggest finding another book.

This book takes just a little time and reading to get used to but when you catch on to how the author did it, the information is very good. Use it in conjunction with a regular state map that has some detail and you will have no trouble finding and enjoying great hiking places. It also helps to call/visit the Escalante ranger station and your hiking adventure will be memorable! I recommend this book to anyone who wants a worthwhile hike & camp.

We were very dissappointed in this book. The writing was very disorganized and poorly written. You had a to read a section several times to figure out what it was trying to say. All kinds of interpretive information was included in the basic description. Also, the information was very outdated. We expect a fair amount of that in guide books. We know things change fast. But this was much worse than usual. The maps were horrible. Spread out on all different pages (and not consecutive pages!). And missing important details. And finally, it didn't include some of the more major trailheads that are being used for one of the hikes. It wasn't anywhere in the written description or on the maps!! We learned that this trailhead was the most common (and best) one that people have been using for years! Our friends had two other guides that were much much much better.

Book is old, dirty and written in, but it did come directly from the authors widow, maybe has original author's notes in it....

The Falcon Guides are the best source of reading material that I have found for hiking into unfamiliar areas. Their discription, maps and milage/elevation gain graphs are wonderful. There books contain a great deal of information.