River Guide to Canyonlands National Park and Vicinity : Hiking, Camping, Geology, Archaeology and Steamboating, Cowboy, Ranching & Trail Building History (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This is a guide for boater's who are floating the Green River downcanyon from Green River town, located on Interstate Highway 70, south to The Confluence with the Colorado River and Spanish Bottom. it's also, for boaters running down the Colorado River from Moab to The Confluence with the Green River. Part of the area in this book is in Canyonlands National Park.

The primary emphasis of this book is hiking, but the best places to camp are also discussed, as well as places where hopefully-good drinking water can be found. The hikes typically start at the river and run upcanyon or to the canyon rim--just the opposite way as some hikes found in the author's other book, "Hiking, Biking and Exploring Canyonlands National Park and Vicinity". There are 18 mapped sections or chapters, each showing campsites, water, trails, Anasazi ruins, and pictographs or petroglyphs (something the National Park Service does not like, therefore they don't sell this book).

History is also a big part of this book, with lots of information on the early-day attempts at running steamboats on the Green and Colorado Rivers between the towns of Green River and Moab. In those days many people tried to homestead some river bottoms. Sandbars and low water cut those dreams short.

While doing research for this book (and the other one mentioned above), the author interviewed about 80 old timers in the Moab, Green River and the Hanksville area, and got lots of stories about cowboys, the ranchers and ranches along the river bottoms, and trail building information. Some of the history here is the same as that found in the other book mentioned above.

About the Author

The author was born in 1943, and experienced his earliest years of life in eastern Utah's Uinta Basin; first near the town of Myton, then Roosevelt. In 1954, the family moved to Provo, where he attended Provo High School, and later Brigham Young University, where he earned a B.S. degree in Sociology. Shortly thereafter he discovered that was the wrong subject, so he attended the University of Utah, where he received his Master of Science degree in Geography, finishing that in June, 1970.

It was then real life began, for on June 9, 1970, he put a pack on his back and started traveling for the first time. Since then he has seen 223 countries, republics, islands, or island groups. All this wandering has resulted in a number of books written and published by himself. Here are his books, listed in the order they were first published: Climber's and Hiker's Guide to the World's Mountains and Volcanos (4th Edition), Utah Mountaineering Guide (3rd Edition); China on Your Own and the Hiking Guide to China's Nine Sacred Mountains (3rd Edition-Out of Print); Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau (4th Edition); Hiking and Exploring Utah's San Rafael Swell (3rd Edition); Hiking and Exploring Utah's Henry Mountains and Robbers Roost (Revised Edition); Hiking and Exploring the Paria River (3rd Edition); Hiking and Climbing in the Great Basin National Park (Wheeler Peak, Nevada); Boater's Guide to Lake Powell--Featuring Hiking, Camping, Geology, History and Archaeology (2nd Updated Edition); Climbing and Exploring Utah's Mt. Timpanogos; River Guide to Canyonlands National Park & Vicinity; Hiking, Biking and Exploring Canyonlands National Park & Vicinity; The Story of Black Rock, Utah; and Hiking, Climbing and Exploring Western Utah's Jack Watson's Ibex Country.

He also helped his mother Venetta B. Kelsey, write & publish a book about the town she was born and raised in, Life on the Black Rock Desert--A History of Clear Lake, Utah.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Kelsey Publishing (Utah); 3rd edition (July 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0944510078
• ISBN-13: 978-0944510070
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #139,044 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #29 in	Books > Travel > United States > States > Utah

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read for Stilwater Canyon - great history, July 15, 2006

By	S. Hayes (Colorado Springs) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an excellent - and inexpensive - reference for Canyonlands and the Green River. We used it for referencing information about the area we trekked by canoe from Mineral Bottom on the Green to Spanish Bottom on the Colorado.

The history is very interesting and adds a lot of neat insights into the places you visit and the things you see along the way. Tamarisk has overgrown a few of the referenced campsites, but the river is an ever changing place - don't expect anything in print to be 100% accurate for long.

Overall - an outstanding book for the price! Definitely order it if you're hiking or boating the Canyonlands.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Historical Read, May 17, 2006

By	D. Downs (Niwot, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having just returned from a 9 day canoe trip through the Stillwater Canyon on the Green River, I can honestly say that this book added a great deal of enjoyment to the trip. Every float day began with a reading from the book to explain the history of each bottom as we passed by. The hiking descriptions were what one expects from Kelsey: great if you are experienced and use it as a guide, lacking if you need your hand held the whole way. Get this book if you are canoeing the flat waters of Canyonlands. (In general I find the Belknap guide book easier to use for actual river navigation.)

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars good, but skips Cataract Canyon, May 13, 2003

By A Customer

This book is great, especially if you're a hiker, but whitewater rafters wont find info in here on Cataract.