Guide to Arizona's Wilderness Areas

Rating:
Summary: Some good information, but far from comprehensive
Review: One might assume that a book titled Guide to Arizona's Wilderness Areas would include information on all such wilderness areas. That would be an incorrect assumption. Although the information in the book is good, particularly with regard to wilderness areas near the Grand Canyon, it completely skips such wilderness areas such as Mount Nutt, Wabayuma Peak, Warm Springs, Arrastra Mtn., Table Top, and Upper Burro Creek. All of these wilderness areas were established in 1990, well before the 1999 publication date. The lack of information on these wilderness areas makes one wonder how up-to-date the information in the book is.

Rating:
Summary: why some wild areas aren't included
Review: second paragraph of preface (page 11) says:

"...I visited most, but not all, of arizona's wilderness areas. Entry to some is blocked by private land, to others by Indian reservation lands. Access to a handful is too difficult and recreational opportunities to include them in a guide of this sort."

So the author made a choice of what to include, while staying within the constraints of a 300 page book. It is arguably a reasonable choice. Maybe it displays a marketing decision to pitch the book more toward the majority of the hiking audience for whom convenience probably matters a lot rather than hardcore remote wilderness lovers. I would have prefer inclusion of all wilderness areas too, but it is still a solid book with a lot of good photos. Maybe a second addition, if there ever is one, will include more or all areas.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent hiker resource
Review: This is a fine book describing 64 hikes throughout Arizon's wilderness areas. It has color pictures to encourage you to visit each area, and color maps to locate the trailhead and the trails. The driving & trail descriptions are detailed and (for the dozen hikes I've done) quite accurate. The areas are color-coded for reference, and each hike has a fact box for length, altitude, and difficulty so it's easy to search for a weekend destination. I was puzzled by the omision of the Pine Mountain wilderness area, and wonder if others might be missing, too. Nonetheless, if you're looking for hikes in Arizona outside the Park system, this is a gem.