Mt. Whitney: The Peak and Surrounding Highlands (Hiker's Guide to the High Sierra)

Rating:
Summary: Not for a typical day hiker
Review: A cautionary note: don't buy this book expecting it to help you do a day hike of Mt. Whitney on the main trail. This is not that type of book and doesn't contain much information about this. This guide mainly focuses on other peaks in the Eastern Sierra Nevada range and concentrates on alternate routes to the Whitney peak, such as Cottonwood lakes and the routes via the John Muir trail. There's also some interesting information on the Meysan Lakes trailhead and instructions on how to summit Whitney via this diffuclt and little-used trail (as least all the way to the summit).

If you like many maps and topographical information, this guide is great. They also have small elevation maps which detail the route and how many feet you have to ascend on any given trail. There is a long history of Mt. Whitney, from the first time it was climbed in the 1860's until now. Sometimes this history gets a little wordy, I felt, but if you want to know personal details of the hiker killed by lightning in 1904, then you will emjoy the extra verbiage.

So, if you're planning a day hike of Whitney, this book is not for you, but if you're a multi-day backpacker with a thirst for maps and the history of the region, then you'd enjoy this guide.

Rating:
Summary: Mt. Whitney: The Peak and Surrounding Highlands
Review: While this book's contents and descriptions are adequate for the trails covered it is incomplete in it's scope of the Mt. Whitney region. I returned it as it did not include a reasonable selection of available trails or even primary ones such as the High Sierra Trail or Whitney Portal. Odd, considering that it's title states it's The Hiker's Guide to the High Sierra. I have to travel significant distances to experience the premier hikes in North America and prefer my hiking guides to be more detailed to enable me to make a more informed trail selection decision in an area I've never been to before. This book might serve someone adequately that is already familiar to the region. The backpacking tips and outdoor advice seemed dated.