No comments about National Geographic Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks Road Guide: The Essential Guide for Motorists (National Park Road Guide).

5 comments about Wyoming Atlas & Gazetteer.

1. The Delorme atlases/gazetteers are valuable references especially if you are traveling the back roads. Compared to a regular road map, there is much more detail to find your way just about anywhere in the atlas coverage area. If you need a lot of detail, you can then purchase topographic maps. Special features are also noted. Get one of these for any state where you plan to explore off the beaten trail. I already have atlases for five states, and the collection will surely grow in coming years.



2. This atlas is a must have for going off the paved roads in Wyoming (or really any western state) for both planning and driving.
   
   My only question is; I'm not sure how often they update these books with changes? It would be nice for them to indicate that. Some trails and/or dirt roads seem to have changed some from when these books were published. But over all the detail is good for being that it covers the entire state. There are some local area maps of state and federal lands that show better detail and seem to be more updated.



3. This is the atlas I recommend for finding back roads and hiking trails. These guides are very detailed because they are written for each individual state. Hawaii's map pages are 1:84,000 scale and parts of Alaska can have 1:1,1,400,000 scale. Visit http://delorme.com and you can get information on map scales and elevations for the state you're interested in.
   
   I can thank this book for the best 4th of July I ever had. We live in Washington State. Everyone knows that camping is very crowded over the 4th. It was in this book that I found Lost Lake. It's a small lake tucked into the mountains off highway 12 near Mt. Rainier. Lost Lake is off the beaten path and our atlas showed us the way to get there. Not only did we find Lost Lake but we had a waterfront campsite and I caught my limit of rainbow trout. There are many more lakes that we will explore next summer using this atlas. Visit our blog at www.radiodirectoryvagabonds.blogspot.com - and you can see Lost Lake and the beautiful campsite we found. The book is great for armchair journeys, finding boat launches, streams, and public hunting and fishing grounds. This is great for trip planning and treasuring hunting for the perfect campsite!
   
   Ken Fritz author of The United States Radio Directory: A Traveler's Favorite Companion 2008-2009



4. I have purchased these for Wyoming, Arizona, Colorado and Utah so far. They are great to take along on a road trip as they are very detailed and show you where so much is. Elevation, rivers, places to camp etc are just a few of the things in these books. I will continue to buy other states based in the western U.S. as I plan to continue to take road trips.



5. the 'see-inside' feature for this map must be from an older edition though. one of the samples shown (pg8) was distribution of game birds, which does not appear to be in the 2009 edition.

No comments about Rand Mcnally Easy to Read Montana/Wyoming: State Map (Rand McNally Easy to Read!).

5 comments about A Climber's Guide to the Teton Range Third Edition(Climber's Guide to the Teton Range).

1. A good climbing guide is a personal friend. You spend hours reading about possible climbs, adventures awaiting for you. There is much pleasure in browsing a climbing guide, remembering the climbs you have made, those climbs not completed due to severe weather or other reasons, and all those climbs you have yet to try.
   
   My Teton guidebook has particular value as I always inscribe notes about my climbs: the date, my companions, the weather, route finding tips (or conversely, where I went astray), elapsed time, and other items of interest.
   
   This third edition, 1996, is more than four hundred pages. It is much to bulky and heavy to carry on a climb. But it is a remarkable reference of virtually every climbing route in the Teton Range. The descriptions are detailed and well-written. I have not encountered any climbing guide that is comparable in detail and scope to this work by Leigh Ortenburger and Reynold Jackson.
   
   The number of routes and variations on the favorite peaks can be overwhelming. The most commonly used route is highlighted. Route descriptions range from easy scrambles to difficult climbs requiring substantial technical skill on ice, snow, and rock. Numerous excellent black and white photos with climbing routes overlain are scattered throughout the texts. Also, there are many detailed ink drawings of more difficult climbs.
   
   For climbers new to the Tetons, the authors have listed more than 130 of their favorite routes ranging from easy scrambles to severe climbs 5.12 in difficulty, as well as difficult technical ice climbing routes.
   
   The introduction, some sixty pages, is quite good. Major topics include a history of Teton climbing, descriptions of great climbs and traverses, details on the national park service policy, and a discussion of the difficulty rating system. The section on Teton weather and climatology is both helpful and sobering. Also, on more than one occasion I had reason to appreciate Ortenburger's and Jackson's bushwacking hints for those canyons without maintained trails.
   
   I have used A Climber's Guide to the Teton Range for many years beginning with the first edition dating back to the 1960s by Leigh Ortenburger. In the intervening years a condensed version, an extended version (volume 2), and a second and third edition have been published.
   
   This third edition is really quite exceptional and I highly recommend this guidebook to anyone planning to climb in Grand Teton National Park.



2. Excellent book. Clearly describes hundreds of routes with climbing topo's and ratings. Highly recommended.



3. If you are looking for a comprehensive, detailed, easy to understand reference guide to the history, approaches and routes of the peaks of the Grand Tetons...look no further. Complete with Topos, black and white Arial photographs, and hand drawn route diagrams, this guide is a "must have" in any mountaineer's quiver of guide books. The book opens with a history of the Grand Teton Range and introduces readers to the men and women who explored and developed many of the modern routes enjoyed by all today; particularly the "bold" first accents of the early Teton pioneers Paul Petzoldt and Glenn Exum. The meat of the book can be found in the remaining pages covering everything from, recommended equipment, mountain safety, to detailed accounts of the climbs and approaches on all the jagged peaks of the Teton Range.
   As a climber of 20+ years, I found this book to be extremely helpful on my trips to the Tetons and highly recommend this guide to anyone entertaining the possibility of climbing or hiking in the Teton Range. Whether you are a seasoned climber, or are considering cutting your teeth in one of the most spectacular mountain ranges the United States has to offer, consider this resource a must!



4. exactly what I was looking for. All the detail I needed and more. Please send my thanks to the authors for the great beta.



5. This is the classic guide book for the Tetons. Many pictures and topos are provided to help route finding, however most topos are for the more difficult routes. The text is very descriptive. The book is heavy so be prepared to make photo copies before your climb.

5 comments about National Geographic Road Guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks (National Geographic Road Guides).

1. The title says it all, if you are doing any kind of travel around the park past the major sites, you must have this map. It shows elevation changes, more details than the standard map given at the park entrance. It's as helpful as any guidebook. And made of a very durable and waterproof material.



2. This book was a birthday gift. What a wonderful friend I have! We spent nine days in Yellowstone NP and we used this book and "A Ranger's Guide to Yellowstone Day Hikes" the entire time. Depending on where you are starting from, you will read the maps from top to bottom or from bottom to top and it can be confusing, but still worth purchasing! We had 6 guide books with us but the other four were not used during driving. This guide also shows you areas where you may want to pull over and explore along the route.



3. We just took a 12 day trip out west and both Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons were part of our itinerary. I found that this book added nothing to our trip. We also purchased Yellowstone Treasurers by Janet Chapple. This book was excellent and greatly enhanced our enjoyment of the park. She provided some information about areas outside of the park and her coverage of The Grand Tetons was as deep as this book. I would not recommend this book.



4. very short guide showing the most important places and useful especially at the beginning to find a place in the park while driving. But this is all. Not much further information.



5. Depending on the length and depth of your visit to Yellowstone, this could well be one of two books you'll want to have. This book is a quick reference guide with major sights indicated and very plain but practical road mapping. The maps are broken down by sections named by areas of the park and the book is easy to read by your co-pilot while you continue to drive. If you want more details on trails or other resources available in the park, you'll need another book.
   
   We visited Yellowstone for 4 days in July 2007. Planning your trip inside the park will pay off. The park was not crowded, but some places you'll want to see could be 20 to 40 miles driving distance from your starting point. The drive however is more often than not majestic. Yellowstone is wild, not manicured like Disney World. In some cases there are true log jams in the rivers. We climbed out on one in a slow moving and shallow river near Teton. Keep your eyes out for waterfalls (they are numerous) and other features you see along the way. Don't overplan your stops as you'll be surprised by points of interest along the roadside. You'll average a good 45 mph+ on the main roads. The roads are in good shape as of July 2007.
   
   Bring some classical music on CDs to play on the drives. My 11 and 13 year old rode for miles without making a sound, looking at the sights out the car window and hearing the music. That's how majestic Yellowstone can be.

5 comments about Climbing and Hiking in the Wind River Mountains, 2nd.

1. I bought this book to plan a week-long backpacking trip. It is very similar in concept to Secor's "High Sierra" guide for CA's Sierra Nevada: Adequate description of the trails and off-trail passes, and comprehensive information for climbers on about everything climbable. I am not a technical climber and cannot judge the book's usefulness as a real "climbing guide", but I like to take off-trail excursions, shortcuts, and scrambles. Together with the "Earthwalk" topos (which are excellent) this book was just the right thing for planning a backpacking trip with "side adventures". If you stay strictly on the trail, you might find a pure trail guide more useful, as trail descriptions only make up 10 or 20% of the text. Off-trail travel turned out to be easy in the Wind Rivers, though.
   The book has a short and very interesting account of the history of Wind River exploration.



2. I bought this book back in 1998 or so when I lived in Utah and it has led me on many an adventure in the Wind River Mountains. The writing is excellent, the descriptions are accurate, and the organization of the book is outstanding. The author has routes in here to please the entire outdoor crowd from the backpacker to the ice climber to the big wall trad climber. This is the best written and best organized climbing guide I have ever read. I wish all guide books were as good as this one.



3. In its 1980 Sierra Club Press version, now out of print, it is a virtual work of poetry.
   
   This version has lots of additions. And is as a result VERY much bigger. I memorized the relevant chapter of my 1980 copy on my 1996 trip to this Wyoming range so as not to need to carry the book. But it was more a Light Gesture than anything else. (And there was little information in that chapter of any kind - the thing that attracted me to that specific area more than anything else, I think.) There is no way I'd carry the book now. The additions were important, don't get me wrong; much climbing has been done in the range since 1980. (Although that chapter has hardly changed at all. And it's mob-level national-park-quality scenery, if anyplace in the Winds is.) But not only is the 1994 book HYOOOGE by comparison to its predecessor; some of the poetry suffered as well. Kelsey might have thought it too above a broad audience, although his general bent wouldn't make me think he'd do something like that for that reason. (His refusal to "talk down" to beginners may intimidate some; it was downright thrilling to me.) Still and all, it's such a wonderful read that I had to force myself to put it down early this morning in an effort to get at least some sleep, something which has never given me a problem with any other guidebook I've seen. It helped me imagine the Winds before I went better than any other guide has done that job; it takes me back there now whenever I pick it up.
   
   I frequently pick up Kelsey, in fact, just to read him, apropos of nothing. OK, maybe not apropos of nothing. It does help if you have been there. Especially for a week, as I did in '96, and most especially if, as I did last week, you follow that up by spending more than 100 miles on the road with the range forming the dramatic wall-to-wall backdrop the entire way. You can't miss the Winds, which makes it amazing how so many do. The only high point I actually ascended on my `96 trip saw its first recorded ascent, by the route I took, right around the time some of the middle-aged folk reading this started hiking. Can't find that too many places outside of caving, can you?
   
   Kelsey treats the Winds the right way. He's a fitting - and better, if you just ask me - successor to Finis Mitchell. No matter what you are doing in the backcountry of the Wind Rivers, this book will help you get there, and not intrude once you are there. Do it just like he says: read the chapter while you're looking at the face, or the couloir, or the maps at home.
   
   Then put the book down, and climb the mountain.



4. Great book if your looking for climbing routes - Class 3 to 5. The book does not offer signifcant insights into hiking routes in the Wind River Range. You can find better hiking intel on the web with Google searches.
   
   The Southern and Northern Wind River Maps also work better to plan out hiking trips.
   
   With that said, if your looking to rope up and bag a peak, this book is a must.



5. The Wind River mountain range offers spectacular climbing.
   
   Back in 1959 I packed into the region around the Cirque of the Towers for a week in August and participated in a few first ascents. Joe Kelsey got my name right in his first edition of this book. Sadly, he confused me with someone else, "Carlos" Plummer, in this second edition.
   
   It was "Bill" Plummer, not "Carlos" Plummer, who climbed with the late Bill Buckingham that week, and who made the first ascent of the East Ridge of Wolf's Head, recognized by Roper and Steck as one of the "Fifty Classic Climbs of North America" Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. At least Roper and Steck got my name right!
   
   I have corresponded with Joe Kelsey, who tells me that the East Ridge is his own favorite climb in the range, one that he has repeated 11 or more times! Joe acknowledged the error and had planned to correct my name in his "third edition". But that never happened because of financial problems at his original publisher. The error has since been repeated by Steve Bechtel and others, and now may never get fixed!
   
   Doggone it, maybe I could have been famous now for something really special that I did 50 years ago!

5 comments about Photographer's Guide to Yellowstone and the Tetons.

1. I really only used the book when I visited Grand Teton National Park. It was great for sunrise and sunset photo locations. His suggestions for sunrise photo locations were great. I highly suggest studying the map that comes with the book as you will understand where and when to be (and why you should be there). This was worth the price as many of the photos that I took came out great (for me). This book is one that I would purchase again if I was playing arm chair quarterback.



2. I bought this book and several others. This is the absolute best one. Do not look any further if you are a photographer. Every point and time of day is noted. The images are examples and while some are older they are still great and offer an idea of what you might get. No guarantees yours will be as good, but mine were superb and without this book I would never have gotten them.
   This was the most valuable asset on our trip. Got some of the best images ever. More than worth the few dollars. Don't listen to the others whining that their images were not good and tried to blame the book. Its not the book's fault. This is the book you want if you are visiting The Grand Tetons or Yellowstone.



3. Terrific guide for photographers. Has lots of useful information, including locations and best times to shoot. Well written and easy to follow. I have all three of Joseph Lange's books and highly recommend all three.



4. 
   
   This is one of the better photo guide books around. I wish it had included a little more about the Tetons but, with that small quibble aside, I found the book to be very helpful. Location descriptions are complete and really useful. I would recommend it.



5. Since this author uses film and not digital, some of the info is irrelevant to most photographers today. Also, he uses polarizing and warming filters on almost every shot, which I feel makes for stange and unpleasant look. However, the tips about camera angle and time of day may be good (I will try them out when I get there).

4 comments about Benchmark Wyoming Road and Recreation Atlas.

1. Benchmark maps are the only ones I will use. Very accurate, easy to read. They are always with me when I travel.



2. I love this book! We have used them to find routes off the beaten track. They have provided us with information and ideas that we could not have found other ways. It is one of our favorite books to read just for the fun of it.



3. Great maps, better than other comparable gazetteers and more complete. Highly recommended. Would be better if more cities were shown at higher resolution. Otherwise, no complaints.



4. I love Benchmark maps! I think they are the best ones made.they are very detailed, & I like the way it looks. I own about 6 of them.

5 comments about Hiking Wyoming's Wind River Range.

1. This is a frustrating book to use although the meat of it---the trail descriptions and stats---is very detailed and well written. The lack of an index, or any way to use all the maps together, and the fact that the maps are very incomplete, make it very annoying to use. Add to this that there is an almost explicit LACK of information or routes for any of the peaks, and one wonders why one bought the book at all. There is no route to the top of Square Top Peak, nor over Dinwoody Pass, or up to Gannett. Even the non-technical peaks are omitted. There is also no "About the Author" section (although it says that there is one), and this is important when one is going to rely on him to guide you into the Wind River Range.



2. This guide was a good introduction to a new hiking area for us. The trails were well described and easy to follow and the prose was useful in suggesting the prominent features of each hike.



3. I just completed a six day haike in Soutghern Wind River area and I found the book Hiking Wyoming's Wind River Range very informative prior to making the hike. However, it could be more complete as to the various hikes and it needs some update in regard to the tails that i took. I will at a later date give my comments in more detail



4. I have found this guide to hiking in the Wind River Mountains to be very informative. The author goes beyond just descibing the difficulty or lengths of hikes. He describes the geology, landscape, vegetation, and even whether a lake holds fish and what type of fish it holds. At times, I felt as if I was on the hike myself. I have been very pleased with this purchase.



5. This guide book is a pain to use. Mainly because of the poor maps. The hiking guide is organized by trailheads, but the overview maps that are given do not cover a large enough area to plan a 4 or 5 day trip, which is the main reason I bought this book. I find myself flipping from section to section trying to piece together the trails in my mind. I've bought many other Falcon guides, and have been happy with all the rest. Since I know of no Wind River alternative guidebook, I bet you'll probably still buy this; I would, it does have some good info. But, I recomend buying a Wind River map while your at it, or use some sort of computerized map (google earth).

3 comments about Best Easy Day Hikes Canyonlands and Arches, 2nd (Best Easy Day Hikes Series).

1. Excellent guide to hikes in and near the two National Parks. If your going to go to the Moab area, have never been there before and enjoy hiking, this is the guide for you. Take it with you and enjoy.



2. If you plan on hiking any of the two parks this guide covers, this compact but thorough guide will be a real asset. Meant for the day hiker, it offers all the info you need to know. I particularly liked the fact that the author went out of his way to include info he might just as easily left out, such as where the shady spots are, which hikes have tough stretches, and which ones are appropriate for kids. Very well done and worth every penny.



3. Great for families who want to get out of the car and off the road to see the park. All of the advice was current and we enjoyed each of the hikes we chose.