<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Discover some of the most remote country in the lower 48
Review: Having the privelege and good fortune to live in the northwest part of the country, I submit that in total, the Oregon High Desert may well be the most spectacular of all, in a region of superlative land and seascapes. It's certainly the most remote and unknown to the general public, in any case.Andy Kerr has done a thorough job with this book. First, even natives of the region (well, the west side of the Cascades, anyway), know virtually nothing about the High Desert country of Eastern and Central Oregon. Or of Idaho, either, for that matter. It helps to have an expert describe a new place for you first, and Kerr does a great job in this regard. He helps the neophyte and the veteran desert rat alike in describing how to get to where you want to go, and possibly most important, what map (US Geo quad) to use. When one gets remote -- and in this country you can get seriously remote -- one needs a good map. This is country where it's highly likely that your cellphone won't work, where off pavement, dragon tooth rocks are ready to flatten your tires, and where gas stations are a long way apart. Kerr breaks the book down into several sections, which include the Basics, natural and unnatural history, political happenings (a big deal! politics about land use in this part of the West is very contentious), descriptions of the various ecoregions covered, appendices, a reading list and plenty of maps, tables and pictures. The photos in the book are by Sandy Lonsdale. My only complaint here is that the photography didn't include some color shots. The Basics covers alot of ground, talking about everything from maps and getting around to things to be aware of like heatstroke, lightning, bugs, etc. There's even a table detailing services available in the local communities that are in the region. If you like your coffee just plain and in a cup, or are an "expresso" diletante, Kerr tells you where you can find what you need. Ditto for beer and eats as well. My personal favorite is at the cafe at Fields, a tiny hamlet in far SE Oregon. The milkshakes there after a long day in the field are a spiritual experience and the cheeseburgers ain't half bad, either. It's a great place to hear the local banter, too. Some of it's just local gossip and some of it's damned informative. For example, the owner of the Fields gas station/cafe (it was for sale last year), will open up after hours if you need gas. The locals (neighbors), gossip about the same things city folks gossip with their neighbors about. Often, though, they live many miles apart, and many of them have to travel more than two hundred miles round-trip, just to go to the grocery store, so you get an idea of how remote this place really is. Speaking of interacting with the locals, it's just fine to shoot the breeze, but it'd be smart to avoid politics, unless you find out that you're on the same political wavelength..... This is a very concise book about a part of the United States that will stun you with it's remoteness and rugged beauty. As I stated early on, this country is virtually unknown, even to many Northwest natives, but is worth every mile you drive to get to your chosen hike/backpack adventure. Having been fortunate enough to have explored a fair sampling of the territory Kerr writes about, I must say that this is an region that will blow away the first time visitor and veteran alike. I make three or four trips there every year, and every time, I'm awed by the sheer vastness and silence of the high desert. It's big, empty and just plain magnificent. Let's face it, there are few places left that one can truly find solitude, and you'll find many such places to be found in this book. So buy the guide, read it, gather your gear, gas up your car (put that SUV to work besides commuting!)and pick a hike. And don't forget your copy of the book to read on the trip, either. Having made a trip and discovered what I'm talking about, join a grassroots organization, like the Oregon Natural Desert Association, The Sierra Club (they have a High Desert Committee in the Portland office), or one of many other groups that help to protect this great, vast, natural landscape that we love. One more thing: Reading the other "review" about this book, I had to laugh at the ignorance of the writer. Did I say land use issues in the Great Basin are contentious? Organizations such as Oregon Natural Desert Association, the High Desert Committee of the Sierra Club and the Oregon Natural Resources Council, along with Kerr and thousands of other "desert rats" are committed to keeping this great landscape wild and free -- as it should be. And ending welfare ranching is a damned good start.
Try reading Lynn Jacobs "Waste of the West" or George Wuerthner's "Welfare Ranching," and you'll see what I'm talking about and why I feel so strongly about this place. The main thing, though, is to pick a hike in Andy Kerr's book, get your gear together and go find out for yourself!
Rating: 
Summary: Oregon's Green Anarchists Guide to a Socialist Land Grab
Review: I thought I was buying a guide book to Eastern Oregon's wild country. Instead, I received a book filled with "green propaganda", superficial information, misguided objectivety, and a warped perspective into what the "Eco Terrorists" agenda truly is for Eastern Oregon.
Rating:
Summary: Oregon's Green Anarchists Guide to a Socialist Land Grab
Review: I thought I was buying a guide book to Eastern Oregon's wild country. Instead, I received a book filled with "green propaganda", superficial information, misguided objectivety, and a warped perspective into what the "Eco Terrorists" agenda truly is for Eastern Oregon.
<< 1 >>
|
