The Last Season is the story of Randy Morgenson, a former Yosemite/Sequoia – Kings Canyon backcountry ranger. Randy was often thought of as the “go to” guy when someone went missing until one day Randy himself went missing.

Those of you who have lived and visited Yosemite for a long time may remember Randy grew up in Yosemite Valley here his dad, Dana, was a local celebrity for the wonderful hikes around the Valley he led people on.

It’s a very riveting story. I highly recommend checking it out.

On a side note I think it’s kind of ironic that the image from Amazon of the front cover says “Search inside” and the story is about a missing person. Weird.

Rick Deutsch, author of One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome, sent me an email to let me know he’s going to be teaching an introductory class at DeAnza College in Cupertino, CA on Oct 20th 2007.

The class is 3 hours long and geared to help both novice and experienced hikers get develop the technique as well as build their skills for longer hikes like the one to the top of Half Dome.

The course is divided into two sections. Section one of the class will center on the basics of hiking: preparation, equipment, water treatment, etc.. Section two focuses on the hike with tips on conditioning both mentally and physically, how to mitigate problems on the trail and confidence building.

For more information on the course check out the Foothill-DeAnza Community College IMPACT Short Course catalog website at:

http://www.communityeducation.fhda.edu/shortcourses.html

Look for TRIP 601.S1: A Hiker’s Guide: From Your First Steps to Half Dome. Sign-up is only $39 plus a $15 materials fee.

Even if you’re not planning on taking the course I do recommend at least grabbing Rick’s book (One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome). If you’re semi-seriously thinking about hiking to the top of Half Dome this is the book you’ll want in your pack with you. It’s full of great information and tips that will not only get you to the top but make it an enjoyable trip as well.

“I’ve just read your blog on the moonbows and thought it worth a mention that a guy called Michael Frey who lives in the valley and works (or worked) at the Ansel Adams Gallery has written a superb photographers guide to the valley, it’s a pocket book and is very cheap, I think it cost me only UK ten pounds to get it to the UK inc shipping. He has a section showing how to take a moonbow with a great photo example. He also lists the best places to photograph from and the best time of day to visit that place to get the best possible shot and it all fits into your pocket, sounds like I’m advertising for him but I’m not, honest. I’ve been an avid reader lately as it’s only 53 weeks to go to our 30th wedding anniversary trip, I’m not wishing my life away but roll on! Cheers and keep up the good work with the blog.
Phil”

Thanks, Phil and you’re right, Michael Frye’s book, The Photographers Guide to Yosemite, is an awesome guide and one that’s I carry in my backpack. I’m on my second one now since my son loves to look through it and see all the beautiful pictures.

If you’re headed to Yosemite I highly recommend purchasing The Photographers Guide to Yosemite. It’s great. If you’d like to pick up a copy you can either click one of the links in the article or you can check out our NEW Yosemite Blog Store at Amazon.com. There’s books, clothing, and gear. What a great way to get stuff and help keep Yosemite Blog up and running.

Thanks again, Phil. Have a great trip and take lots of photos.

By now everyone’s heard the old standby “Why did you climb the mountain? Because it was there.” But if you’re like me (I never leave home without a fishing rod on my pack) and someone asked you “Why did you hike the John Muir Trail?” you could say “Because there were trout.”

If you could have a sherpa lug your pack down the John Muir Trail then“Trout Fishing the John Muir Trail” by Charles and Steve Beck would be in that bag. A complete compendium of fishing in the High Sierra this book takes-the-cake in my book. But you don’t need to take my word for it. Just take a look at what some of the people have been saying about it on Amazon.

The John Muir Trail runs 210 miles through the spectacular Sierra Nevada mountain range and serves as a connection to numerous trout-fishing waters. The trail passes by forty sparkling trout-filled lakes, crosses another forty fish-inhabited creeks, and follows six of California’s biggest, untamed freestone rivers. Steve Beck’s Trout-Fishing The John Muir Trail is a complete guide to this magnificent wilderness route, , illustrated throughout with color photos, and includes detailed information on planning and preparing for a trip to the John Muir Trail, fishing along the trail, fishing tackle, hiking gear, hiking tips, the top twenty trout streams, fly recommendations, and a great deal more. Whether novice angler or experienced fly-fisher, Trout-Fishing The John Muir Trail will prove an invaluable, indispensable reference guide.

Technorati Tags: adventuretravel, backpacking, books, flyfishing, hiking, howto, Sierra Nevada, wilderness, yosemite

The book is full of maps, trail descriptions in both directions, and a mileage/altitude chart to help you plan your trip whether you’re just doing short hikes on the trail or you’re planing on thru hiking the whole thing.Check it out. This is one you’re definitely going to want to add to your library.

Technorati Tags: backpacking, books, California, Sierra Nevada, wilderness, yosemite

A new book, “Shattered Air : A True Account of Catastrophe and Courage on Yosemite’s Half Dome” (Bob Madgic), tells the story of a group of hikers who ventured to the top of Half Dome and were caught in a thunderstorm. But for one group of hikers from Carmel California, the version in the book isn’t the way they remembering it.

Carmel Pinecone: “Failing to heed warnings, a group of five hikers climbed to the top of Half Dome just moments before a severe afternoon lightning storm struck. The group from Carmel was sheltered safely on the side of the mountain as it waited for the weather to improve.

After the lightning subsided and the sky began to clear, a few hikers ascended Half Dome to watch the sunset. What they discovered at the top was horrific — one of the first group of hikers lay dead, two others were critically injured, and a fourth had fallen from Half Dome, which towers 4,737 feet above the floor of Yosemite Valley.”

Technorati Tags: books, hiking, history, outdoor, Sierra Nevada, yosemite

The first, Railroads of the Yosemite Valley is an awesome historical reference of the building of the railroads that served the Yosemite region. Loaded with interesting pictures taken during the hey day of the railroad, Railroads of the Yosemite Valley chronicles the history of the railroads, their use by the logging and industrial firms around the park, and their role bringing visitors to Yosemite. This book is going to have me looking for signs of the old railway now. I particularly couldn’t believe the photos of the old inlcine railways which were set up the side of the mountain at about 60 degrees. This is definitely one that you’ll want to check out.

I’m never one to turn down creative and interesting books of photos of Yosemite (it’s nice to see what other people are doing) so the second book I got was Keith S. Walklets’ Yosemite: An Enduring Treasure. What an awesome body of work! The photography is phenomenal; trading traditional views for one a little different from the norm. Couple that with Keith’s fantastic writing and an imaginitive layout and design for the book and you have a book that will inspire and awe you at the same time. I’m keeping this one up out of reach of the kid.

Both books are available through the Yosemite Association‘ store or by clicking the photos and links above.