High Sierra Topix

James Oliver Curwood wrote a series of books with a setting in the central Canadian wilderness circa 1890 - 1920. Adventure stories, some with a touch of romance.

H. Rider Haggard created the Allan Quatermain character (the inspiration behind the Indiana Jones character). These stories are set in the then unexplored and unmapped central Africa. The story of King's Solomon Mines is one of his more famous.

Both these authors have most of their stories as free audio or e-books. A MP3 player will hold numerous books with less space and weight than paperbooks. With careful management a battery will last several weeks.

The old man and the boy. by robert ruark. Hunting and fishing stories combined with old fashioned values. Any of the last of the mohicans series by james feinmore cooper. Free on google books along with many of the classics.

Well, I found a copy of "Brave New World" but made the mistake of reading the first page ... and then the second and ... well, now I need to find another book!

I got the book Salt to Summit for Christmas and I am enjoying it immensely. "A vagabond journey from Death Valley to Mount Whitney"

Don't let my book suggestion of Brave New World throw you off....I think everyone on this forum would enjoy this book on some level.

Real old topic, I know, but I found it doing a search to see if anyone else had already commented on "A River Runs Through It" by Norman Maclean. I bought a collection of three short stories that he had published including "A River Runs Though It", and I found them all to be excellent reads either in the mountains or the city. But, when I took the book with me an a short trip in the Desolation Wilderness, holed up in my tent, surrounded by snow, there was something special about the stories. A River Runs Through It is the well known story since it got made into a movie, but in my opinion, "USFS 1919: The Ranger, The Cook, And a Hole In The Sky" is its equal in most respects. There is something about the tempo of Maclean's writing that appeals to me even more so when I am not rushing from one place to the next, when I don't have to worry about schedules and meetings. It feels like the tempo of a nice warm day in the woods by a lake or a lazy stream. For my money, the collection of short stories I bought was the best money I have ever spent on a book.

I generally like to read mountaineering books while backpacking and generally weighing no more than 7 oz. Some books I've enjoyed the past few years are "The Climb" by Anatoli Boukreev; "The Climb up to Hell" by Jack Olsen; "The Mammoth Book of Climbing Adventures" edited by Jon Lewis (heavy, tear it in half and put half in your resupply); "Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada" by the great Clarence King (heavy, tear it in half); "The Big Burn" by Timothy Egan; and "Touching the Void" by Joe Simpson.

Greetings

When backpacking I take a copy of the Gospel of John. I find wisdom and guidance there; sort of a compass for my life.

What I suggest for anyone travelling in the Sierra Nevada (I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned) is anything by John Muir.

Peace

My First Summer in the Sierra, by John Muir

Awesome book Tom_H.

Also, a very important contribution to preserving the Sierra Nevada as we know it today.

balance wrote:Awesome book Tom_H.

Also, a very important contribution to preserving the Sierra Nevada as we know it today.

My college had the original edition 10 volume set of The Complete Writings of John Muir. Needless to say, I read them all.