Summit by Harry Farthing (2016)

Even if you have zero interest in alpinism or Nazis, I highly recommend this book. It’s very entertaining throughout.

In the autumn of 1938 Germany’s Reichsführer, Heinrich Himmler, is growing frustrated at the British using their regional power in India to block passage of an SS expedition to Tibet. Determined to spite them, he plots to steal something the British hold dear and have failed for the seventh time that spring to achieve – a first summit of Mount Everest.

Seventy years later, seasoned mountain guide Neil Quinn’s ninth visit to the top of the world’s highest mountain in the charge of the sixteen-year old son of a Long Island billionaire begins to unravel. As a desperate fight for their lives begins in the freezing air high above Tibet, Quinn stumbles across a clue to a story that questions everything he thinks he knows about the great mountain. …

GoodReads
summit

Amazon

The author reads the audio version. That always adds something for me.

Farthing was inspired by 11 other mountaineering books. I’ve read at least 3 of those.

Watch an interview with the author.

James Kaiser’s Yosemite

Mary Jane Carroll from Whitecloud sent me a review copy of Yosemite the Complete Guide to Yosemite National Park 4th edition 2016.

yosemite-complete-guide-300Filled with gorgeous photographs, this full-color guidebook showcases the highlights and hidden gems of Yosemite National Park. From the thundering base of Yosemite Falls to the sparkling granite of El Capitan, Yosemite: The Complete Guide equips travelers with everything they need to make the most of their time in the park. …

jameskaiser.com

James is a photographer / writer / hiker who’s obviously in love with everything Yosemite.

Though the guidebook is very comprehensive, the text is succinct. Very clearly written.

If you were headed to Yosemite it’s an excellent resource for where to stay. And where to hike.

yosemite-national-park-guide-best

Great Walks of the World – D. Larraine Andrews

This 2014 book includes some great walks: Larapinta Trail, Milford Track, Carthew-Alderson, Chilkoot Trail, Yosemite’s Panorama Trail, etc.

But it also includes some surprising choices – Mt Sinai, for example.

It includes an oddball assortment of tips on each. I’d hardly call it a hiking guidebook, however.

Great Walks

An eclectic collection of 11 global walks and hikes, the book includes destinations on every continent but Antarctica. From one-day saunters to two-week odysseys, readers will find the in-depth story behind each trail, combined with detailed maps and a visual feast of archival and contemporary images from contributors located around the world. …

Amazon

Cape Scott and the North Coast Trail

Cape Scott and the North Coast Trail is the first comprehensive guidebook about one of Vancouver Island’s most iconic destinations. Each year, thousands of backpackers and nature lovers head to the northern limits of Vancouver Island, bound for the jewel of the region: Cape Scott Provincial Park and the recently completed North Coast Trail. …

$26.95 CAD; $26.95 USD

Cape Scott bears

North Coast campfire

more photos

This part of the world is a fantastic wilderness. But we have serious reservations about the standard route – don’t hike the North Coast Trail

back to the Sunshine Coast Trail

11 of us tried to hike British Colombia’s  Sunshine Coast Trail summer of 2015.

We lasted only 3 days. 🙂

I’m heading back to the Sunshine Coast today on my own to see if I can knock off a big chunk of the 180-kilometre trail that stretches from Sarah Point in Desolation Sound to Saltery Bay.

newmapmore maps

The huts are basic. First come, first served. I’ll carry a tent, just in case.

Tinhat hutNo fees. No registration. Easy access from multiple trailheads means you can resupply en route. Logistics will be easy.

My main worries are bugs. And mud.

I’ll swat the bugs with the guidebook by Eagle Walz.

 

Carrot Quinn – PCT memoir

This looks great.

Carrot Quinn fears that she’s become addicted to the internet. The city makes her numb, and she’s having trouble connecting with others. In a desperate move she breaks away from everything to walk 2,660 miles from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. It will be her first long-distance hike.

In the desert of Southern California Carrot faces many challenges, both physical and emotional: pain, injury, blisters, aching cold and searing heat, dehydration, exhaustion, loneliness. In the wilderness she happens upon and becomes close with an eclectic group of strangers- people she wouldn’t have chanced to meet in the “regular world” but who are brought together, here on the trail, by their one common goal: make it to Canada before the snow flies.

Carrot Quinn

Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail

wikiexplora Best Hikes of the World

wikiexplora reviewed 9 top hiking books:

  • Book 1: A Journey along the World’s Great Treks by Jeff Salvage and Kirk Markus

Top-10

From those, they arrived at their own top 10:

1 Chile Torres del Paine Trek, Patagonia
2 Perú Inca Trail
3 Tanzania Mt. Kilimanjaro
4 France-Italy-Switzerland Haute Route
5 Nepal Everest Base Camp
6 New Zealand Routeburn track, Fiordland-Mount Aspiring Nationals Parks, South Island
7 Pakistan Snow Lake/Biafo-Hispar/Lupke La Region
8 Pakistan Baltoro glacier / Concordia
8 India Zanskar river, Ladakh
10 USA Kaibab trail, Grand Canyon (Rim-to-Rim), Arizona

I wouldn’t consider their methodology foolproof. Just because the Inca Trail is famous, doesn’t mean it’s one of the top hiking experiences of the world.

Only the Haute Route and Everest are on our top 10 list.

Still, it’s worth clicking through. Check the next 40 hikes as well as honourable mentions.

Best Treks and Hikes of the World, Top 100 (Methodology)

new – Scottish National Trail

The Scottish National Trail is an 864 kilometre-long long distance walking route running the length of Scotland from Kirk Yetholm to Cape Wrath.

Devised by outdoors writer and broadcaster Cameron McNeish, the Trail offers very varied walking, following long-established footpaths for much of the distance but becoming progressively more difficult as it heads north, finishing with a tough stretch of backpacking – with some pathless and demanding terrain – on the final stretch of the Cape Wrath Trail. …

ScottishNationalTrail.co.uk

map

Click PLAY or watch a teaser on YouTube.

Lonely Planet Trekking in the Patagonian Andes

trekking Patagonian AndesThe 2009 edition is longer available from LP. Not even as a digital version. 😦

I highly doubt it will ever be updated.

You can still find used versions on Amazon at high cost.

I searched until I found one in a used book store. I’ll hang on to it. There’s nothing better for the region, in my opinion.

A 2015 Spanish language guidebook is closest – Trekking por Chile by Compass, the map company.

If you only need to see some of the Lonely Planet guide, check the version archived on Google Books.