Guide Books

Anyone have any recommendations on books for The Maze? Kelsey's non-tech canyon guide has a brief overview but not as much detail as I'd like. David Day's Canyonlands Book has a lot of info but I'd like to find more, specifically on the non-traditional routes in and out of those canyons.
 
ibenick said:
Anyone have any recommendations on books for The Maze? Kelsey's non-tech canyon guide has a brief overview but not as much detail as I'd like. David Day's Canyonlands Book has a lot of info but I'd like to find more, specifically on the non-traditional routes in and out of those canyons.
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You can try the following Kelsey books:

River Guide to Canyonlands 2nd Edition 2012 (available at amazon)
Hiking, biking and Exploring Canyonlands National Park 3rd edition - currently out of print
 
I like to use Kelsey books to get ideas and Allen's to get useful route information. Allen generally strikes just the right balance: tells you enough to get through a route but not a whole lot more. His hiking times and climb ratings are pretty much right on. I've never done a full route from Allen book 2, but I've done a lot of bits and pieces. They really take you into some interesting nooks and crannies.
 
Sweet, I have been looking for some new books. I have Kelsey's book but the structure he used when he wrote it makes me insane. It has proven to be essential for my trip planning and the info in it is pretty conclusive, although the suggstion he makes concerning water has always troubled me. It just seems irresponsible to point to the fact that he never filters water and drinks from springs. I have even had a freind or two ask me if I carry water or a filter into the desert based on his suggestions.
 
I met up with Kelsey today to get his 20 year old, out of print, first edition "Climbing and Exploring Utahs Mt. Timpanogos". I'm sure I could get by with the info on the web these days, but he has some pretty great photos and maps in there. I know TH's have changed, but I'm up for an adventure and wanted more insight into the history as well.

The reason why I bring it up is because he offered me any book he publishes in "blemished" condition for a steep discount. I snatched up his guide to the Colorado Plateau, and thought that if any of you are looking for a book and you'll be at Zion/Subway, or if you wanted to contact him yourself, you probably should and see what he may have. I'm happy to help out when/where I can logistically.

I also taked to David Day today and got some info on the new edition coming out of his Utah's Incredible Backcountry Trails guidebook. It won't be here for a while (next year), but he told me that his current edition is on sale. Look him up at UtahTrails.com, or PM me, and I can walk over and get one for you. It's a fantastic reference, and I love his rating system and maps.
 
i told you it was impressive... however, it's not exactly easy to piece together all the crap in there. kinda wish she'd formatted it differently. all the variations are confusing as hell.
 
Adding a book to this thread, Grand Canyoneering by Todd Martin. I mentioned getting this in another thread, but thought I'd post more detail here. I've spent the last couple of hours buried in it and WOW! While most of it is canyoneering, still a fair amount of useful information for just backpacking, and the quality and detail is stunning. Full color all the way through. I am stoked out of my brain right now to finally get to The Grand this April!

$30 on Amazon - worth every penny.

grand-canyoneering.jpg

grand-canyoneering-inside.jpg
 
What is the best books for the Canyonlands Needles and Island district. I'm looking to do some long hikes or 2-3 day overnighters in this area. I will also be in Arches and Moab(biking). I see David Days name mentioned. Thanks
 
baltocharlie said:
What is the best books for the Canyonlands Needles and Island district. I'm looking to do some long hikes or 2-3 day overnighters in this area. I will also be in Arches and Moab(biking). I see David Days name mentioned. Thanks
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Hi baltocharlie,

For Canyonlands(all districts) I can definitely recommend the David Day guide. One of the best guidebooks I've used for the area so far. It covers basically everything: short hikes, long day hikes, multi day trips and jeep roads. Just add one of the Trails Illustrated maps for the different parts and you're covered.
The descriptions in Day's book are really goid and also the hiking times are reasonable. I used my book for two years in a row and did many of the suggested trips including a solo backpacking trip into Salt Creek Canyon.
So I can definitely highly recommend it

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
 
Miss Buffalo and IntrepidXJ: Thank you both. I will make the purchase. I am also getting a bunch of map for my spring fling. I am getting stoked for the trip. I see both of you are going to the BCP canyon spring fest. We will meet then. Thanks again.
 
Still awaiting shipment of books and maps. I feel like a crack addict waiting for a fix:) I know, patience patience.
 
Wow. I pre-ordered this on February 17, 2013 and it finally arrived today. The latest 'bible' from Steve Allen, this time all about the northern swell. Flipped through and it looks awesome. For those curious, his books are titled 'canyoneering' but it's mostly hiking. Looks like there's still a long wait on this book, get your orders in now! :)

Canyoneering the Northern San Rafael Swell by Steve Allen & Joe Mitchell

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intuitive cat said:
For those looking for another level of info on the Escalante Canyons and Kaiparowits Plateau, I recommend the book Arches of the Escalante Canyons and Kaiparowits Plateau by Escalante local Jens Munthe. I provided an amazon link to eyeball it, but PLEASE do not buy it there.
Jens has BOXES of them which he had to purchase from the publisher. It is now out of print & there are very few which show up online.
I've started to work with a mutual friend of his to develop a website which will make the books directly available. I have also plotted the entire database of gps coordinates for the Arches on google earth and have an updated database with an additional 170 or so arches added to it (making a total of over 800 documented arches in the area).
I'll let everyone know when the site goes live (it will probably be a little while) or if anyone is interested in the book, we should be carrying them at Hills & Hollows as soon as I can get over to pick some up from him.

as far as hiking in the Escalante Canyons, the Steve Allen Canyoneering 3 book is like a bible. I reference it to double check many of my own routes or to preview areas I am going into. I used to use the Kelsey book, but it is so horribly printed and annoying that everything is in metric. I will still reference it to double check some things though.

Our current best seller at the store is Hiking From Here to WOW: Utah Canyon Country. very user friendly and covers most of the major hikes and a few lesser known ones throughout Southern Utah. The couple who wrote it are based here in Boulder and are great people.
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intuitive cat, do you know where I can still find this book? Thanks!​

 
Bob said:
Says they have some

www.directtextbook.com

ISBN 1891858114 - Arches of the Escalante Canyons and Kaiparowits Plateau : Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument Direct Textbook

Find 1891858114 Arches of the Escalante Canyons and Kaiparowits Plateau : Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument by Munthe et al at over 30 bookstores. Buy, rent or sell.
www.directtextbook.com
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Thanks! I did see some available. I just was discouraged by the 60$+ price. I'd like to see what is in the guidebook, but don't know that I need it. Ill keep my eye open. Thanks again.
 
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