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Illustrated Guide to Exploring the Grand Circle

There's nothing quite like a good guide book to get one excited about heading off on an adventure. One area that we've nosed around over the years but never fully explored is the Four Corners area around the common - and unique! - border of Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. Along comes Illustrated Guide to Exploring the Grand Circle, by Daniel Pierce and Joel Anderson.

The Grand Circle doesn't have a single definition. In this book it's defined as being mostly in Utah plus the Grand Canyon in Arizona. If you visit The Grand Circle Association - a great source of travel tips for the area - you'll find a much larger diameter to their circle. Any way you draw it the Grand Circle has more cool places per square mile than just about anywhere, and IGEGC is a great way to get excited about visiting.

The book's centerpiece is its artwork, all of which is done in retro travel poster style with saturated colors and grand vistas. And the art is gorgeous, a feast for the eyes and the imagination, making it easy to pick up and hard to put down. All of the posters featured, and a lot more, are available in various formats on the ADG website as well.

The layout of the book starts with maps, itineraries and history, then moves on to detailed treatments of eight areas: Zion, Bryce Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Capitol Reef, Moab, Blanding/Bluff, Glen Canyon, and the North Rim Grand Canyon. Throughout are interesting side trips exploring activities like horseback riding, fossil hunting and offroading, as well as features like hoodoos, rock art and slot canyons. Bottom line: if the Grand Circle isn't on your bucket list, add it now, and pick up a copy of Illustrated Guide to Exploring the Grand Circle to start dreaming.

$29.95 at Anderson Design Group

How to Ice Climb, by Sean Isaac and Tim Banfield

Climbing is a technical sport where you really need to know what you're doing so you don't, well... die. Ice climbing is even more so. The medium of ice is more fickle and unforgiving than rock, and yet the act of climbing can be easier thanks to modern crampons and ice tools. This can lead to one overestimating one's abilities and the inherent safety of the act. So, education is even more critical than usual, and a great place to start is How to Ice Climb by Sean Isaac and Tim Banfield, now in its second edition from Falcon Guides.

HTIC has a forward by none other than Conrad Anker, who needs no introduction himself, so if you're wondering about the quality of the content you can rest assured it is top shelf. In fact, we're just going to say up front that if you only have one ice climbing book, this should be it. All the usual subjects are covered: equipment, planning approach, technique and training. It's the quality of the coverage that sets this title apart.

Speaking of quality, the photography is crazy good. There are pictures on just about every page, often more than one, and the angles, lighting and other elements are perfectly composed to communicate the concept at hand. From the writing, our favorite part is chapter six on Movement. Climbing ice, like any other climbing, relies on economy of movement to conserve energy so you can climb farther, faster and safer. The authors start with crampon and tool placement and quickly move on to actual movement. There are a lot of photos of incorrect technique, which are invaluable in troubleshooting your own movement patterns and coaching those of your partner. The chapter progresses through movement drills - awesome - and advanced techniques, including a really scary photo on page 130 of a climber on a cracked pillar.

Uber-alpinist Steve House makes a guest appearance to write the chapter on training. We appreciate his calling out the importance of raw strength - we have been known to evangelize on this occasionally - although we would advocate for general strength training using a barbell, a la the Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5 methods. Either way, House's point that "training is not a random process," is gospel. So pick up the book, find someone competent to climb with, gear up and get out!

$29.95 at Amazon

The Ski Guide Manual by Rob Coppolillo

Rob Coppolillo, co-author of one of our fave books, The Mountain Guide Manual, is at it again with the perfect sequel: The Ski Guide Manual: Advanced Techniques for the Backcountry. Another great title from Falcon Guides, TSGM is an up-to-date treatment of everything backcountry skiing, by an author who as one of the first 100 Americans to earn the prestigious American Mountain Guides Association international certification in mountain guiding.

TSGM is crazy full of good information. Even the trivia - you do know about smotli, right? (we didn't, page 57) - is instructional. Everything from planning to up to down to debrief is covered, with great photographs and illustrations, and lots of sidebars that call out important points. Rob's real-life experience makes frequent appearances to drive home points, and he's humble enough to give space to guest authors to write about their specialities such as split-boarding, teamwork and checklists. There is literally too much to cover, so we won't even try, we'll just leave you with our highest recommendation: buy this book! Read this book! Do it now!

The value here is just ridiculous. If you backcountry ski at all, you're at least dimly (hopefully more so) aware of the risks of traveling in avalanche terrain and on steep icy slopes. Reading this book is an investment in saving your life and the lives of your teammates, and the price of entry is almost negligible compared to what we spend on all the shiny sexy gear. So if you want to learn about smotli and everything else you need to know to be a safe and efficient backcountry skier, here are your answers.

$21.99 at Amazon

Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, 9th Edition

If you could only have one book on mountaineering, it's an easy choice: Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills (2017) has been the go-to reference for generations of aspiring and practicing mountaineers since 1960. It has its own Wikipedia page,and the organization that started the book is even older: the Seattle Mountaineers date their founding to 1906, so they are well into their second century. Tl;dr is, they know their stuff, and you can too! Just RTFM...

MFH is the bible for mountaineers, a fitting companion to the famous quote by John Muir: "I'd rather be in the mountains thinking of god, than in church thinking about the mountains." And if you're going to spend quality time in the mountains, it pays to know your way around. The 9th edition makes a few small changes, perhaps the most important one being a separate chapter for avalanche safety, something that has gotten a lot more attention in the past decade, and where methods of risk mitigation are evolving.

Other than that, it's the same six section format from prior editions:

1. outdoor fundamentals
2. climbing fundamentals
3. rock climbing
4. snow, ice and alpine climbing
5. leadership, safety and rescue
6. the mountain environment

You really can't go wrong with any of the Mountaineers Books, but MFH should be your first and longest relationship. For different takes on the same subjects, we recommend The Mountaineering Handbook by Craig Connally (2004), and Glacier Mountaineering (2009) by the always excellent writer/illustrator team of Andy Tyson and Mike Clelland. Both are anchor titles on our Backcountry Bookshelf.

$28.90 at Amazon

Hiking Lassen Volcanic National Park

Falcon publishes some great guide books, and their hiking series is fantastic. Hiking Lassen Volcanic National Park third edition by Tracy Salcedo is a perfect example, winning a 2020 National Outdoor Book Award.

In addition to this very fine guide to a major Northern California attraction, Tracy also penned Best Easy Day Hikes Lake Tahoe, and she knows her way around a guidebook. Her knowledge and Falcon's proven format go well together. The book covers all the basics up front: history, geology, gear and a comprehensive safety briefing with lions, tigers and bears. OK, no tigers, but lightning!

Camping and trails are illustrated with beautiful color maps throughout, and Tracy gives us her author's picks: 14 hikes in 14 days. How can you not want to visit places with names like the Eye of Vulcan and Bumpass Hell? The latter is not descriptive of what might happen to your delicate derriere, but is actually the name of a guy who burned the crap out of his leg in the area.

The guide is endlessly entertaining and will help you get the most of your time in the park. In addition to her 14 hikes, Tracy also helpfully provides a one week schedule and a bunch of "best of" lists of hikes for history, kids, meadows, waterfalls, you get the idea. Worth every penny if you're planning a trip here, and even if you're not it will help you dream.

$24.95 at Amazon

Toproping: Rock Climbing for the Outdoor Beginner

Full disclosure, when I was getting started rock climbing I took some beginner and intermediate classes in Joshua Tree with Bob Gaines through his company, Vertical Adventures, way back in the early 1990s. Bob was already a legend in the rock climbing community, both for his climbing exploits and for his devotion to teaching the sport. Anything he writes is worth reading, especially if you're a beginner looking to get off on the right foot. And handhold.

Toproping, even more than bouldering, is the safest way to get started climbing and the best way to learn the fundamentals. When I think of climbing I think of getting to the top of a rock, setting an anchor, rappelling down and belaying a friend. These tasks are the essence of climbing and provide the foundation for a lot more, most of which can be practiced on toprope: lead, ice and mixed climbing for example.

I don't have the 2012 first edition of Toproping, but I suspect the 2020 second edition of Toproping is just a re-issue with a different cover to match the Falcon Guides series formatting better. It doesn't matter, it's still the same great book that covers basic equipment, technique, anchors, knots, rappelling and risk management. Falcon has books that cover all of these topics in greater detail, but for a beginner looking for somewhere to start this book is fantastic. It's a great review for the advance climber who might be looking to start teaching as well.

The book has clear organization, text and pictures. It also makes great use of anecdotes from Bob's extensive climbing history, and has gorgeous photos mostly taken around Joshua Tree, often featuring titans of the climbing world, such as Peter Croft and John Long (another great outdoor writer and a truly funny guy). If you're looking for a one-volume book of knowledge, or for a gift for the beginner climber in your life, this is the book.

$17.58 at Amazon

Outward Bound Map and Compass Handbook

Those of us with kids are on the lookout these days for fun outdoor activities to keep them - and us! - occupied. Outdoor skills-building is a great way for adults to brush up on skills and for kids to learn them. Outward Bound hands us a tool for doing just that with the 4th edition of their Map and Compass Handbook by Glenn Randall.

MACH is a really well-written manual with eight chapters that painlessly walk you through the fundamentals: reading maps and using a compass first, then topics like declination, altimeter navigation, GPS and orienteering.

Throughout the text Randall draws on his plentiful experience with stories illustrating the points he's making. He fits a lot of instruction in a slim 100-page book, and his clear text and frequent use of simple, easy-to-understand illustrations makes absorbing the information a breeze.

Although we still wish that the 1981 classic "Don't get Lost: How to Travel in the Best Circles in a Square World" booklet was still available, MACH is a modern classic that will inspire adults and kids alike to learn an old technology with timeless relevance.

$8.99 Kindle, $13.99 paperback on Amazon

The Prepper's Medical Handbook

And speaking of timely, this title from William Forgey, M.D., certainly fits the bill. The Prepper's Medical Handbook is a very handy one-volume reference for anyone who wants to be prepared to solve their own medical emergencies, written by someone who knows what's what. Forgey is a full-time doctor of family medicine, past president of the Wilderness Medical Society, author of a number of wilderness medicine books (including Wilderness Medicine 7th Edition from Falcon, a favorite of ours and upon which TPMH is based) and a decorated combat veteran. So yeah, let's go with this guy.

TPMH has prepper in the title, but this is a good resource for anyone to have at home. These days when most of us are practicing social distancing even if we're not in outright quarantine, it certainly doesn't hurt to be prepared. And let's face it, being able to look up a condition in the table of contents or index and flip to the appropriate page can be much quicker than finding - and vetting! - a piece of internet advice. Assuming your internet connection is up, that is.

Organization is the strong point of TPMH. Right off the bat the author tells you how to use the book: start with your initial assessment (pages 6-8) and progress to your focused assessment (pages 8-9). These pages include redirects to appropriate treatment options, and there are additional diagnostic aids in each chapter. Need more? At the end there's a Clinical Reference Index that allows you to cross-reference symptoms, conditions and treatments.

We won't go into detail on the various sections, suffice it to say it's all in there and well-organized to boot. The last chapter will be of particular interest to gearheads as it covers the assembly of an off-grid medical kit. Forgey starts off the chapter with a quick word about alternative medicine: in short, he sees some value there but it's too complicated and environment-specific to cover in any detail, so he focuses on what you can get from the grid to prepare for when there is no grid. He takes a modular approach, with five different "sub-kits" for topical bandaging, non-Rx oral medication, Rx oral/topical medication, Rx injectable medication and Rx cardiac medication. For each module Forgey shows what you'd need for a bug-out bag (2 weeks), settlement stock (1 year) and 5-year supply.

For the price there's no reason you shouldn't have this book at home, ready to grab when you need it. You'll find yourself consulting it early and often, and that its utility extends far beyond TEOTWAWKI.

$14.90 at Amazon

Best Easy Day Hikes Lake Tahoe

Falcon Guide are reliable companions to a lot of backcountry activities from hiking to climbing to birdwatching. Best Easy Day Hikes Lake Tahoe by Tracy Salcedo is small in size but large in utility, providing overviews of 29 hikes in the Lake Tahoe area.

This is not Ms. Salcedo's first rodeo, as she's written over twenty guides for Falcon covering California and Colorado. The book itself is easily pocketable at 4x7 inches and 3/8" thick. The maps are simple and clear, starting with an overview map that locates all 29 hikes reviewed around the Lake Tahoe basin. The hikes are chosen based on short length (under 6 miles round trip), beautiful and varied scenery and good trails. Pages 8-10 group the hikes by various criteria (best for children, history, lakes, workout, etc.) and there is a list of all 29 hikes ordered by difficulty.

Individual trail descriptions contain information on best season to hike, time to complete, fees, dogs, amenities, maps and more. Very useful is the first item of narrative in each description: Finding the Trailhead. You just can't go wrong with this guide.

A useful addition is the National Geographic US Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Trails Illustrated topographic map, $11.95 at Amazon. It's a gorgeous and useful fold-out map printed on waterproof and tear-resistant paper. One side has the north basin and the other side the south, and unfolded to it's full 37.75" x 25.5" size it really communicates the scale and beauty of America's largest alpine lake, what Ms. Salcedo eloquently calls the Blue Heart of the Sierra. 

$10.49 on Amazon

Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance

There are a few foundational texts in each sport, like Freedom of the Hills for mountaineers, and mountain bikers have long looked to Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance for the first and last word on their rides. We finally got around to updating to the 2018 sixth edition, and it's better than ever.

Repair and maintenance for every component on a modern mountain bike is fully covered, with great illustrations that reminded us of classics by Andy Tyson and Mike Clelland. Our newest bike has introduced us to a 1x drivetrain, hydraulic disc brakes and tubeless tires and Zinn covers all of that and a lot more, even electronic shifting systems.

Explanations are detailed, clear and engaging, and the illustrations are just fantastic and often include every variation of a particular component as well as exploded diagrams of the leading models from major manufacturers.

Zinn starts with three helpful chapters that cover tools (basic, intermediate, advanced and shop setups), repair kits for different scenarios, pre-ride and intermittent inspections, cleaning and common emergency repairs. Those three chapters alone are worth the price of admission, and then he gets to all the components including major tasks like building wheels and rebuilding shocks. There's even a chapter on fitting a bike to your body at the end, which we'd like to see at the very beginning. There's very little to nitpick here: maybe a detailed table of contents and ditch the white text on orange background for the sidebars, but the bottom line is ZATAOMBM is required reading, so just buy it.

$19.76 at Amazon