Hiking Grand Canyon National Park [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Ron Adkison (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Here is the definitive guide to the wide range of hiking opportunities in world-famous Grand Canyon National Park. Includes 15 hikes in the South Rim area. The thorough and well-researched text gives essential information on how to enjoy a safe hiking experience. Additional sections on canyon geology, vegetation, and human history help visitors get the most from their trip.

From the Back Cover
Hiking Grand Canyon National Park provides first-hand descriptions and detailed maps for all the developed trails as well as tips on safety, hiking with children, access, and services. This guide also includes indispensable information on backcountry regulations, permits, and water sources. Veteran hiking guidebook author Ron Adkison has hiked every trail in this book and recommends his favorite routes from easy day hikes to moderate and extended backpack trips.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Falcon; 1st edition (July 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560445661
• ISBN-13: 978-1560445661
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #757,764 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the Grand Canyon hikers book, March 10, 2002

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

To me, this is the Grand Canyon book to get if you are planning on hiking the trails. It has great illustrations of the trails and elevations. You can easily follow the trail illustrations from one trail to another because they tell you the page number of the connecting trail. The textual descriptions are excellent and very easy to follow. The trails are broken up logically and are easy to piece together for extended trips into the canyon. If you are looking for a book with telephone numbers of who to call for reservations and all that, this is not the book. Fine with me because that information is always changing and isn't that what they made the internet for? The size is a bit large to be considered a pocket book but is easily packable. The size actually helps with the illustrated maps as it makes them what I consider to be perfect for trail use. I prefer to make copies (which I did not do if it is a violation of some copyright) of the trails I am going to hike and leave the book behind. The copies are handy for the inevitable rain that always comes. Put them in a zip lock bag with the one you need on top...this book does not stress much about people being physically prepared to hike the canyon. If they don't physically prepare, what makes you think they bother to read before they hit the trail? I have yet to see a sick person on the trail with a book about the canyon in their hand. The book does rate each of the trails with regard to difficulty. I have several books on the Grand Canyon and for planning and hiking the trails, this is the one I would recommend over all the others.

32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Adequate but incomplete, November 27, 2000

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

This is 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 to Phantom Ranch at the Colorado river and then back on the Bright Angel Trail. This is nine and a half miles one way with an elevation gain of 5,000 feet. 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. Another fabulous challenge is doing a rim to rim hike, but only for those FIT.

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!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Get Ready to Hike, April 24, 2000

By A Customer

We used this book exclusively to pick the trails we wanted to attempt. The book was very helpful, explaining details such as elevation change, estimated hike times to various points on the trails, and ratings of the trails' difficulty. The book also included directions to each trailhead, and other information such as weather and hiking conditons. We had our 6 and 9 year olds with us, and the book contained a listing of easy to difficult day hikes for families. I found this book very valuable in preparation for our daily hikes into the Grand Canyon.