Reading List: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park
An expert's reading list for two must-see California parks.
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
Mike White, 61, of Reno, NV wrote two guidebooks about the SEKI area and has personally hiked every trail in both parks. Here’s what’s on his local-reading bookshelf.
1. John Muir Trail: The Essential Guide to Hiking America’s Most Famous Trail (4th Edition)
by Elizabeth Wenk with Kathy Morey (Wilderness Press)
“This is the most useful guide to the fabled trail.”
2. Sierra High Route: Traversing Timberline County (2nd Edition)
by Steve Roper (Mountaineers Books)
“A fantastic, alternate route to the John Muir Trail, much of it off trail.”
3. Early Days in the Range of Light: Encounters with Legendary Mountaineers
by Daniel Arnold (Counterpoint)
“A fine historical account of some of the early adventures in the Sierra.”
4. The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes, Trails (3rd Edition)
by R.J. Secor (Mountaineers Books)
“THE climbing guide to the area.”
5. The Last Season
by Eric Blehm (HarperCollins)
“A gripping account of the mystery of a park ranger’s disappearance.”
6. History of the Sierra Nevada
by Francis P. Farquhar (University of California Press)
“The standard history of the Sierra.”
7. Exploring the Highest Sierra
by James G. Moore (Stanford University Press)
“Excellent guide to the geology of the range.”
8. Yosemite and the Range of Light
by Ansel Adams (Little Brown & Co.)
“A fantastic collection of Adams’s black and white photos of the Sierra.”
9. My First Summer in the Sierra
by John Muir
“Of course, any of John Muir’s writings on the Sierra are classics. Also check out The Mountains of California and The Yosemite.”
10. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks: Your Complete Hiking Guide
Top Trails™ Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks: Must-Do Hikes for Everyone
by Mike White (Wilderness Press)
And of course, Mike recommends his own guidebooks!