The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada (California Academy of Sciences) (California Academy of Sciences) (California Academy of Sciences)
by John Muir Laws
from Heyday Books
With more than 2,800 original watercolor illustrations, John Muir Laws has masterfully catalogued over 1,700 species of Sierra trees, wildflowers, ferns, fungi, lichens, fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals, insects, and other small animals. The guide is designed for quick and easy use in the field. Color tabs and a unique system of keys and organization assist in the quick identification of the living things encountered along the trail, while Laws s illustrations capture the feeling of plants and animals with detail critical for their classification.
Afoot & Afield Reno-Tahoe: A Comprehensive Hiking Guide
by Mike White
from Wilderness Press
This addition to Wilderness Press's successful Afoot & Afield series is the most comprehensive outdoor guide to the vast backcountry surrounding Reno and Lake Tahoe. This guide features more than 150 trips in the Reno and Lake Tahoe region, including Graeagle, Truckee, Echo Summit, Mt. Rose, and Carson Valley. Trips range from easy strolls to challenging treks and include distance, time, elevation gain, difficulty, and trail notes.
One Best Hike: Yosemite's Half Dome
by Rick Deutsch
from Wilderness Press
Of all the hiking adventures in Yosemite National Park, probably the single most compelling to visitors from all over the world is the hike to the summit of Half Dome, the 8842-foot granite rock that stands as the Park's signature landmark. For many, it's a much anticipated once-in-a-lifetime achievement. The most popular route to Half Dome's summit is a grueling 16-mile round-trip trek with 10,800 feet in elevation gain and loss. Although the hike is non-technical, with hikers climbing fixed cables up the granite side of the rock, many would-be hikers are hesitant about this potentially risky trip. How fit should you be? What preparations do you need beforehand? What should you bring? How should you pace yourself during the day? From pre-trip advice to on-the-trail tips, this guide is aimed at both casual and experienced hikers. An estimated 50,000 people attempt the Half-Dome hike each year--up to 800 per day during peak season.
National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southwestern States: Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah (Audubon Field Guide)
by NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY
from Knopf
Filled with concise descriptions and stunning photographs, the National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southwestern States belongs in the home of every resident of the Southwest and in the suitcase or backpack of every visitor.  This compact volume contains:
An easy-to-use field guide for identifying 1,000 of the state's wildflowers, trees, mushrooms, mosses, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, butterflies, mammals, and much more;
A complete overview of the southwestern region's natural history, covering geology, wildlife habitats, ecology, fossils, rocks and minerals, clouds and weather patterns, and the night sky;
An extensive sampling of the area's best parks, preserves, mountains, forests, and wildlife sanctuaries, with detailed descriptions and visitor information for 50 sites and notes on dozens of others.
The guide is packed with visual information -- the 1,500 full-color images include more than 1,300 photographs, 9 maps, and 16 night-sky charts, as well as more than 100 drawings explaining everything from geological processes to the basic features of different plants and animals. Â
For everyone who lives or spends time in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, or Utah, there can be no finer guide to the area's natural surroundings than the National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southwestern States.
Sierra Trout Guide
by Ralph Cutter
from Frank Amato Publications
More than just a guide to finding trout in the diverse waters of California's Sierra Nevadas, this is a colorful and informative overview of the fish, their habitat, and techniques for bringing them to net. It begins with a detailed description of the native and non-native trout species of the Sierras, including beautiful full-color plates. Subsequent chapters include discussions of hydraulics, trout behavior, entomology, locating fish, and traveling in the backcountry. Anyone who fishes--or plans to fish in the Sierra Nevadas--should read this book from start to finish.
Sierra Nevada Natural History (California Natural History Guides)
by Tracy I. Storer
from University of California Press
The magnificent and much-loved Sierra Nevada, called the "Range of Light" by John Muir, is the dominant feature on the California landscape. First published forty years ago, this handbook has become an enduring natural history classic, used by thousands to learn more about virtually every aspect of this spectacular mountain range--from its superb flora and fauna to its rugged topography. Comprehensive yet concise and portable, the book describes hundreds of species: trees and shrubs, flowering plants and ferns, fungi and lichens, insects and fish, amphibians and reptiles, and birds and mammals. Now completely updated and revised, it will continue to be the essential guide to the Sierra Nevada for a new generation of hikers, campers, tourists, naturalists, students, and teachers--everyone who wants to know more about this unique and beautiful mountain range.
* Describes more than 750 of the species most likely to be encountered with more than 500 new color photographs and 218 detailed black-and-white drawings
* Includes engaging and accessible introductory sections on Sierra Nevada topography, climate, geological history, and human history
* The compact, updated species accounts make identification easy, provide informative remarks on ecology and life history, and note which species are threatened or endangered
The Sierra High Route: Traversing Timberline Country
by Steve Roper
from Mountaineers Books
Best Easy Day Hikes Lake Tahoe
by Tracy Salcedo
from Falcon
Geology of the Sierra Nevada (California Natural History Guides)
by Mary Hill
from University of California Press
Writing with verve and clarity, Mary Hill tells the story of the magnificent Sierra Nevada--the longest, highest, and most spectacular mountain range in the contiguous United States. Hill takes us from the time before the land which would be California even existed, through the days of roaring volcanoes, violent earthquakes, and chilling ice sheets, to the more recent history of the Sierra's early explorers and the generations of adventuresome souls who followed.
The author introduces the rocks of the Sierra Nevada, which tell the mountains' tale, and explains how nature's forces, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, faulting, erosion, and glaciation formed the range's world-renowned scenery and mineral wealth, including gold.
For thirty years, the first edition of Geology of the Sierra Nevada has been the definitive guide to the Sierra Nevada's geological history for nature lovers, travelers, hikers, campers, and armchair explorers. This new edition offers new chapters and sidebars and incorporates the concept of plate tectonics throughout the text.
* Written in easy-to-understand language for a wide audience.
* Gives detailed information on where to view outstanding Sierra Nevada geology in some of the world's most beloved natural treasures and national parks, including Yosemite.
* Provides specific information on places to see glaciers and glacial deposits, caves, and exhibits of gold mines and mining equipment, many from Gold Rush times.
* Superbly illustrated with 117 new color illustrations, 16 halftones, 39 line illustrations, and 12 maps, and also features an easy-to-use, interactive key for identifying rocks and a glossary of geological terms.
100 Classic Hikes in Northern California: Sierra Nevada/ Cascade Mountains/ Klamath Mountains/ Coast Range and North Coast/ San Francisco Bay Area (100 Classic Hikes)
by John R. Soares
from Mountaineers Books
Fraternal coauthors John and Marc Soares celebrate the beauty of Northern California's extensive wilderness, drawing from a varied collection of treks in the Sierra Nevada, Cascade, Coast, and Klamath Mountain ranges as well as the San Francisco Bay Area. Hike selections include the long trek to Caribou Lake that takes you "deep into the heart of the Trinity Alps"; the easy three-hour hike to Peener Lake; the trail to Cinder Cone, which leads you to surreal painted dunes; and the "isolated Lost Coast, "one of the most coveted get-away paradises in the country." Like the other volumes in the 100 Classic Hikes series, this easy-to-use guide includes at-a-glance information detailing trail length, hiking time, difficulty, seasonal considerations, and additional contacts. Color maps and commentary on each trail offer directions to trail heads, campsites, views, and swimming holes. Amateur botanists will appreciate the notes on trees and wildflowers, including the rare red snow plant. --Jenny Burritt
This third edition brings the Soares' brothers classic guide to the 100 best of Northern California's hikes thoroughly up to date and adds elevation profiles for most of the 100 hikes. New color photos have been added and all facts, trail, and map details have been reviewed by rangers and trail supervisors. Appendices now include web contact information. A handy trails-at-a-glance chart indicates distance, level of difficulty, and seasonal considerations.
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