Customer Reviews

Hiking from Here to WOW: Utah Canyon Country

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had previously purchased the Copeland's book on the Canadian Rockies, which was the best hiking book I had purchased (I have a large collection), so I had high expectations from this newest Utah book-- I was not disappointed. I have 4 other "Utah" hiking books-- this one is again the best. When you first open it, and glance through the pages, you get a strong sense of high quality. Jam packed with nice color pictures which are truly inspiring. The opinions are (IMO) well founded (the Copeland's have good discernment about what makes a "WOW" hike). Facts/details/maps are clear and plenteous without being overkill, providing all the info you need/want to know, and not a lot extra.

Cons? You have to dig deep into the nitpicking bag to find fault, but... I would have preferred ratings on the hikes like they did in their Canadian Rockies book. It's true, these are ALL "WOW" hikes (as they state in introduction), but some are more "WOW" than others! :-) Three or even two classifications of "wow" would have been nice. A few of the pictures (out of hundreds) have motion blur. The background on the maps is an orangish brown... they look classy, but for those who make photocopies of maps to take on the hike, a white background would have been better. Like I said, this is really nitpicking.

I highly recommend this book.

Occasionally we receive a note from someone who's purchased one of our hiking guidebooks and is disappointed to find it does not include GPS data. Each of these notes is, in substance, identical to the book review Michael Boyd posted in this forum. None of these readers has ever stated a specific destination or site that our book describes and that he or she failed to reach. So they're not actually finding fault with our book. They're instead expressing their belief that a GPS unit is required hiking equipment in all circumstances, therefore all contemporary hiking guidebooks should contain GPS data. We write opinionated guidebooks, so we of course welcome readers' commentary. But we vehemently disagree with this particular point of view.

GPS is utterly unnecessary if you have a complete, precisely-written description of the established route, which is what we provide for each trip in every book we write. Actually, GPS is worse than unnecessary. It's a distraction--a vestige of the office cubicle, which is what most of us seek to escape when we go hiking. You're trekking long distance, off trail, cross-country? By all means, carry a GPS unit; your survival might depend on it. You're using our guidebook? Bring your compass, but leave your GPS unit at home; you won't need it. Excluding GPS data from our guidebooks was a conscious decision. We did not want to suggest hikers must purchase, carry and use a GPS unit. We opted instead to carefully craft our books, liberating hikers from the "GPS is necessary" myth.

Compared to a compass, a GPS unit is heavier, bulkier, more fragile, more complex, more time consuming, occasionally foiled by topography (particularly canyons), dependent on batteries, and way more expensive. Including GPS data in our books would not serve the vast majority of hikers. It would deprive them of a joyful sense of discovery. Moreover, it would deter them from developing the rewarding, potentially lifesaving skill of learning to read the land. Hiking, after all, is a conversation with the earth. Constantly fiddling with and peering at a GPS unit interrupts that conversation.

Mr. Boyd, in his review of our WOW Utah book, also says he prefers the maps in Michael Kelsey's books. That's odd, given Mr. Boyd's allegiance to technology. Kelsey's maps were hand sketched. They suggest rock-art and ruin locations but do not pinpoint them. The maps in our book were painstakingly designed and are illuminated by our detailed, highly-visual descriptions of where en route hikers should look for archaeological treasures. We're confident hikers will find our WOW Utah book a unique resource: not only an efficient, accurate guide, but also a source of inspiration.

This is a book that is written by people who have done all the hikes and know the trails. (Because the authors are obviously strong hikers you must use caution when accepting their ratings of the difficulty.)They describe in detail each of the hikes and have pictures that will interest the reader in deciding whether that is a hike for the scenery they'd like to see. They provide elevation changes and list elevations at the beginning and end of the hikes. This is a good feature in the event that a hike can be constructed to go in the opposite direction for a downhill hike as opposed to a strenuous uphill one. The maps provided are not for direct use in hiking as they are not a substitute for topographic maps which should be a must on every hikers "must carry" list. The book covers areas not covered by other books and does list some interesting Indian Rock Art locations and the hikes.

We originally became fans of the Copeland's hiking books with "Don't Waste Your Time in the BC Coast Mountains." It struck me as such a great concept for a working family with, frankly, too little time and so many trails to explore (living in Vancouver, BC). Their trail descriptions and ratings proved their worth. From there, I bought and used "DWYT in the Cascades, the Rockies, and eventually pretty much all their books. I bought them not only for the clear, concise and accurate trail descriptions (the facts); but, also for the most entertaining, well written, amusing and inspirational "Opinion" sections for each hike. I'd read them just for fun. As well, we really connect with their philosophy of hiking, including 'leave no trace,' finding solitude and quiet (and respecting that for others), and getting the most payoff for effort. These sections are so enjoyable, I find myself quoting, and reading passages to friends when I recommend their books!

We were thrilled when they came out with Utah Canyon Country. We've done quite a lot of hiking in Utah and Arizona and this book has again become our favorite. Over the years, we have hiked many of the trails in Zion, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, Escalante, as well as backpacking Wire Pass through Buckskin Gulch and Paria Canyon two years ago. I've recently pulled out my copy and am in the process of planning the next trip. We're quite interested to try some hikes that might be even better than Calf Creek (a family favorite for a long time)! I think the photos are excellent and plentiful, and I really like having the maps (no need to cross-reference anymore!) for each hike. They help to give a little perspective at least in the perusing and planning stage.

Enjoy this book. You'll know it was a good choice once you've laced up your boots and hit the trails!

I just wanted to say what a fantastic book the WOW utah guide is!

Myself and my girlfriend just got back from spending 3 weeks this may in canyon country, and used this book extensively throughout - in particular, we hiked the arches' devils garden & delicate arch, dead horse point, canyonlands peekaboo and chesler park/joint trail, mule canyon, natural bridges, calf creek, hole-in-rock canyons peekaboo, spooky & brimstone (also explored egypt-3 off egypt bench, outside of the scope of the book) and willow & fortymile gulches, bryce canyon & zions angels landing.

Outstanding memories came especially from the canyonlands and escalante hikes. Fortymile gulch was *so* much fun, deeper water than expected, and peekaboo slot was just incredibly beautiful - also we met a rattlesnake here, under a rock, and had to chimney up the walls to pass over it! Peekaboo and the joint are both just classic hikes in a crazy landscape- unforgettable.

I dont normally write book reviews, but I felt this book gave such great advice in an outspoken style of writing that certainly paralleled my feelings towards the great outdoors - we quickly learnt to trust the book, full of little details that made things better, esp. with regard to avoiding the tourist hordes and finding camping.

The only thing we found was that the approach to brimstone slot was more strenuous than expected, and described in the book - we hiked it at the hottest part of the day, and found it to be pretty brutal as the canyon floor is very sandy, and there was zero shade the whole way. The return was considerably easier, once it had cooled off. I suppose you could say that about a lot of the hikes in utah, but this particular stretch did seem particularly menacing, and reminded us how nasty it could be to be out there without enough water.

Another thing that could be mentioned in passing - is the devils garden off hole in rock rd - its a pretty neat distraction! and fun to be somewhere like that without the aforementioned hordes.

Anyway I cant wait to go back again.

It's great to find a set of hiking books you can rely on

Received the Utah Canyon Country "WOW" guide today and my heart started beating faster just looking at the cover photo. Oh yeah, slickrock junkies will be pleased.
Skimming thru, the photos are great, the maps look accurate and easy to read and the trip choices seem excellent.
I'm not really going to get rid of my shelves of Utah hiking guides but this is certainly a great addition.
Whoops; five minutes after submitting the above review the cover came unglued and fell off. Bad cover but still a good book.

I picked up this guide book "Utah Canyon Country" a few weeks ago and couldn't put it down. Paging through it, I saw so many hikes I have done and enjoyed, and so many more that I have on my "Bucket List" and can't wait to do.
Like the authors, I love the American South West, but my sense of wonder may be even greater than theirs, as an ex Englishman (in the US for over 31 years) I'm still in awe of this landscape. The size alone is just unimaginable to some of my old friends back "home" who have never experienced it for themselves.
About the lack of GPS data in the book: I must say I completely agree with Kathy's comments above on this subject: A GPS is not needed for the trails in this guide. I own one, and use it when needed, but on these trails, I at least would waste more time fiddling with it than it would be worth.
To sum up, this guide is just what I've been looking for, concise and well written; and judging by the 28 hikes I have already done before I purchased the book, it is accurate.
But like a previous reviewer noted, the front and back cover fell off, and my copy hasn't been out of the house yet. I've glued it back on!!

I have done a number of hikes from this book and thought the book is excellent. I bought this book mainly to find more information about those lesser known hikes in this area, which are frequently even more spectacular than the famous hikes. And this book does not dissappoint. The book is thick and has 90 hikes in Central to Southen Utah. I have discovered a number of hikes I didn't know before and I am quickly filling up my calendars with all the hikes I want to do from the book.

I bring this book with me on trips and memorize the key facts then head out onto the trails. This allows me to sort of "discover" the trail on my own while enabling me not to get lost or otherwise run into trouble. I think some other reviewers photograph the sections to take onto trails, which seem like a good idea. Most of the trails are day hikes, while some can be 2-3 day treks and require car shuttle.

In all, an excellent resource for the hikes in the area.

A friend recommened this book. It is exactly what I needed. Precise information on canyon hikes. Directions, distances every thing I need to plan a canyon hiking trip.

After rigorously researching, reading reviews, and taking a dash of Amazon's 'suggestions' on what to buy, I settled on this book by the Copelands...and have not been dissapointed!! The photos make me want to jump in the car now. There was one particular hike that I had heard about, off the beaten path, and have been scouring the internet for information about this hike. I found NOTHING compared to the extremely detailed description in this book. And their style of writing brings an added element that makes it feel a bit more like an adventure, special, or just maybe a 'deeper' feeling about hiking. We leave on our trip to Southern Utah in 3 weeks, and I'll post a follow-up review after we've done a bunch of their hikes.