Hiking the Grand Canyon (Sierra Club Totebook) (Paperback)

by John Annerino (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Fully updated and expanded, this new edition of the ever-popular Sierra Club Totebook is an information-packed guide to America's best-known national park--destination of over four million visitors annually. Annerino offers seasoned advice on lodging, hiking equipment and technique, safety, weather and clothing, food requirements, map selection, and wilderness ethics. 13 photographs.

About the Author
John Annerino has contributed to The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Geo, Stern, Der Spiegel, and Outside. He is a former Colorado River guide and lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Product Details

• Paperback: 326 pages
• Publisher: Sierra Club Books; Book&Map edition (May 4, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871565897
• ISBN-13: 978-0871565891
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 4.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #789,824 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #19 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Travel > Sierra Club
  #72 in	Books > Travel > United States > States > Arizona > Grand Canyon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Are they reading the same book as I am?, March 10, 2002

By	Canyon "canyon3" (Fairport, NY United States) - See all my reviews

I bought this book based on the reviews I read and all I can say is, are they reading the same book as I am? This book has the basic information about the trails and other interesting information like who was the first to climb each of the formations. There are no actual illustrations of the trails in the book, only textual descriptions. It tells you how long you will live without water based on the temperature. Seems to me you should know that before you head out. It is a compact size which makes it easy to lug around all that useless information. It does have some interesting history about the Grand Canyon and contact information for hotels and rafting. Again, information that is not very useful once you are on the trail. It has a listing of water sources but any serious hiker will check with the back country office before hitting the trail, which for the records the book does recommend. It also came with a useless map which is suitable for coloring. If you are planning on hiking into the canyon, I would recommend the book by Adkison over this one.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK book, April 5, 2000

By	GARY M. LABELLA (Malta, NY) - See all my reviews

The first couple of chapters gave a very good overview of the canyon formation, good to know tourist information for the backpacker, and a map. Unfortunately, I found the map difficult to read because of the colors used to format it. I was also hoping for more depth and discussion about the various trails from the South Rim to the river. This is a well rounded book. It does give a quick (but vague)overview of what a backpacker needs to know. This "guide" lives up to its claim for being just that. I would recommend this book for the novice Canyon goer

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best-ever Grand Canyon hiking guide!, September 25, 2003

By	Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

I hike rim to rim to rim several times a year in the Grand Canyon, so I know the inner corridor trails pretty well. This book should now be considered the definitive guide for hiking in the Grand Canyon and the strong points of this book are worth noting. The maps are excellent, as are the descriptions of how to get to trail head. However, the book is incomplete in certain areas and outdated. The Grand Canyon has implemented a shuttle system to stem the horrific crowds (I don't see much improvement) and hikers now can't drive to the South Kaibab trail or Hermit's Rest trail. The directions in this book are therefore rendered confusing due to the new restrictions.

Most importantly, the authors neglect to stress that in order to successfully complete long hikes at the Grand Canyon, you must be physically prepared. Several times a year I hike rim to rim and then back the next day. This is 24 miles of hiking with some serious elevation gains. Oftentimes I pass many sick, debilitated and unprepared hikers who quite obviously didn't do any physical preparation for this hike. Physically fit people should be able to do it in 3-4 hours coming up, but many are stuck on the trail for 12 hours and suffering. This could be avoided by exercising and hiking for months in advance in order to enjoy and relish the spectacular experience.

The author does detail the debilitating and life-threatening heat conditions that exist in the Canyon. I recommend to anyone planning long hikes *not* to attempt them in the summer! Temperatures frequently exceed 110 degrees and heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke can result. The best months to hike in the Grand Canyon are October, November and April.

The Grand Canyon (even with the terrible crowds) is a sublime experience and Phantom Ranch is the best part of the canyon. Forget the mule and use your own two feet. It's a magical experience, a great hike and one you will want to do again and again!