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Rating: 
Summary: A useful guide to a John Muir Trail alternative
Review: The John Muir Trail follows the spine of the Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Mount Whitney. Steve Roper, in Sierra High Route, came up with a mostly off-trail alternative that stays high even when the JMT dips into the valleys. Dennis Gagnon devised the opposite: an alternate (and, not incidentally, less overused) trail that stays mainly in the mid-elevations, rather than the high country of the JMT. He named his trail after Theodore Solomons, who spent years exploring, mapping, and naming the High Sierra but never achieved the lasting fame of Muir. This relatively slim volume is an excellent companion to the Solomons Trail. Gagnon provides trail mileages, description, and locator maps for the trail itself, as well as shorter trips to points along the trail. The latter make this book useful not only as a guide to the TST itself, but as a more general hiking guide. Because this book (like Roper's) posits a route, rather than merely describing an existing route, the quality of the route itself has to be a factor in the overall rating of the guidebook. On this score, his success is mixed. Parts of the route are inspired, visiting relatively unfrequented areas of breathtaking beauty (e.g., Tehipite Valley, the Monarch Divide); on the other hand, Sierra geography dictates that the trail go through long sections of forested plateau. I would be much more inclined to do selected sections of the TST than ever essay the entire trail. In any case, Gagnon does a tremendous service by desribing parts of the Sierra that are almost universally overlooked by other guidebooks. That in itself makes this book worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: A useful guide to a John Muir Trail alternative
Review: The John Muir Trail follows the spine of the Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Mount Whitney. Steve Roper, in Sierra High Route, came up with a mostly off-trail alternative that stays high even when the JMT dips into the valleys. Dennis Gagnon devised the opposite: an alternate (and, not incidentally, less overused) trail that stays mainly in the mid-elevations, rather than the high country of the JMT. He named his trail after Theodore Solomons, who spent years exploring, mapping, and naming the High Sierra but never achieved the lasting fame of Muir. This relatively slim volume is an excellent companion to the Solomons Trail. Gagnon provides trail mileages, description, and locator maps for the trail itself, as well as shorter trips to points along the trail. The latter make this book useful not only as a guide to the TST itself, but as a more general hiking guide. Because this book (like Roper's) posits a route, rather than merely describing an existing route, the quality of the route itself has to be a factor in the overall rating of the guidebook. On this score, his success is mixed. Parts of the route are inspired, visiting relatively unfrequented areas of breathtaking beauty (e.g., Tehipite Valley, the Monarch Divide); on the other hand, Sierra geography dictates that the trail go through long sections of forested plateau. I would be much more inclined to do selected sections of the TST than ever essay the entire trail. In any case, Gagnon does a tremendous service by desribing parts of the Sierra that are almost universally overlooked by other guidebooks. That in itself makes this book worthwhile.
Rating: 
Summary: Solomons Trail - Sierra Nevada
Review: This is the third version of the guide book to the TST. The first a 16-page pamphlet by Gagnon (1974), the second a 120 page book by Gary Buscombe (1983), and the third, this 135 page book by Gagnon (1987). The trail has much to offer - montane forests, deep canyons (Tehipite > 2100 m deep), great visual diversity and grand viewsheds and few people. There are many peaks, meadows and other interesting geography along the way. The book could be greatly enhanced by bringing in the geologic, geographic and human history of places (vs. a dry description of the route), updating elevations to use current measuring units (SI) and include a few photographs of interesting places such as Kern, Kaweah, Kings and San Joaquin River canyons, Mount Solomons, Balloon Dome and many unique meadows found along the way. The TST traverses the upper portion of the deepest canyon in North America (Middle Fork Kings River, 2512 m deep). The TST ties together the Sierra Nevada from south of Mt. Whitney (4821 m), through the southern and central Sierra Nevada to Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. The TST traverses some outstanding areas of the Sierra Nevada and the book is essential for finding your way - or at least having the confidence to continue forward. The Forest Service no longer does trail maintenance in the Sierra Nevada and many sections are overgrown or trail junction signs are missing or beyond easy understanding. The trail goes through many of the areas Solomons and companions traveled in the 1890s. It is most helpful to obtain photocopies of Solomons "Century Magazine" articles for reading along the way - walk and see things from Solomons' perspective. Purchase the book and enjoy an excellent alternative to the higher elevation and more traveled Muir-Pacific Crest trails. Help educate National Park Service and National Forest Service personnel who are largely unaware of Solomons, the trail and the history of the areas of the Sierra Nevada they manage.
Rating:
Summary: Solomons Trail - Sierra Nevada
Review: This is the third version of the guide book to the TST. The first a 16-page pamphlet by Gagnon (1974), the second a 120 page book by Gary Buscombe (1983), and the third, this 135 page book by Gagnon (1987). The trail has much to offer - montane forests, deep canyons (Tehipite > 2100 m deep), great visual diversity and grand viewsheds and few people. There are many peaks, meadows and other interesting geography along the way. The book could be greatly enhanced by bringing in the geologic, geographic and human history of places (vs. a dry description of the route), updating elevations to use current measuring units (SI) and include a few photographs of interesting places such as Kern, Kaweah, Kings and San Joaquin River canyons, Mount Solomons, Balloon Dome and many unique meadows found along the way. The TST traverses the upper portion of the deepest canyon in North America (Middle Fork Kings River, 2512 m deep). The TST ties together the Sierra Nevada from south of Mt. Whitney (4821 m), through the southern and central Sierra Nevada to Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. The TST traverses some outstanding areas of the Sierra Nevada and the book is essential for finding your way - or at least having the confidence to continue forward. The Forest Service no longer does trail maintenance in the Sierra Nevada and many sections are overgrown or trail junction signs are missing or beyond easy understanding. The trail goes through many of the areas Solomons and companions traveled in the 1890s. It is most helpful to obtain photocopies of Solomons "Century Magazine" articles for reading along the way - walk and see things from Solomons' perspective. Purchase the book and enjoy an excellent alternative to the higher elevation and more traveled Muir-Pacific Crest trails. Help educate National Park Service and National Forest Service personnel who are largely unaware of Solomons, the trail and the history of the areas of the Sierra Nevada they manage.
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