Hiking the Wasatch

By John Veranth and John Vernath

Book Overview

The Wasatch Mountains, with three wilderness areas and hundreds of miles of trails, offer a treasure land of outdoor opportunities within easy reach of nearly a million people. Yet the steep rugged terrain can seem intimidating to new hikers and many parts of the Wasatch are relatively unknown and seldom visited. John Veranth has hiked all over these mountains and has written a comprehensive guidebook for both the beginner and the expert hiker. Trail descriptions range from nearly level walks requiring less than an hour to ascents that challenge experienced mountaineers. To assist in selecting an appropriate trail, hikes are listed according to best season, time required, objective, and desired level of difficulty. The easy trails have the most detailed descriptions to aid beginners, while expert trails have sparse descriptions to preserve the adventure. Maps, photos, and line drawings are included and detailed driving directions to the trailheads are consolidated to save repetition. The area's geology, flora and fauna, and human history are also discussed to further appreciation of this mountain environment. Since the first publication of Hiking the Wasatch , there have been numerous changes to these trails, especially along the foothill-urban interface. This revised third edition contains full updates based on the author's field checking, comments from members of the Wasatch Mountain Club, and information from land-management agencies. Hiking the Wasatch is an essential resource for exploring these mountain trails.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1607813254
• ISBN13: 9781607813255
• Release Date: July 2014
• Publisher: University of Utah Press
• Length: 286 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A good hiking bible

Found places I have never heard of to hike. Great information and for those who like to hike, its a great reference point.

Wasatch Hikers Best Guide

Hiking times are real, not just best guesses. When planning those half-day hikes, timing is everything! Lots of info on plants, animals, sites, best routes, alt routes, common sense advice, etc. Good book, buy it.

Great resource for Salt Lake City outdoors

This is by far the most detailed hiking guide to the Wasatch I have come across. It covers a good range of difficulties, from easy hikes to mountaineering scrambles. Has much more detail than books that cover the entire state of Utah. I recently moved to SLC and have been using this book consistently. I find that hike descriptions given in the book match reality in almost all cases for me which is not the case with some other similar books (especially hiking times).

An Absolute Must For Anyone interested in Hiking The Wasatch

John Veranth's book, Hiking The Wasatch, is the greatest work ever written for people who hike in the Salt Lake County Area of the Wasatch. It covers everything from easy family hikes to challenging ridge and mountaineering scrambles for the most experienced hiker. It includes great route descriptions, moderate hike times, trailhead locations, geological information, and historical references. There are other books that cover Wasatch Front Hiking, but only Veranth's book is a complete guide. I enjoyed this book, because it helped me accomplish my goal of climbing all of Salt Lake County's 32 10,000-foot peaks. If you enjoy peak-bagging, check out "Climbing Salt Lake County's 32 10,000-foot Peaks" by James Barlow, and Keith Stevens. His book is better than "Climbing...Peaks", because it also includes trails that are not routes up these peaks. It also has sections for the Foothills, Milcreek Canyon (North Side), and North & East Areas, where the peak-bagging book doesn't mention, due to lack of peaks. All the peaks are accessed from Big Cottonwood, Little Cottonwood, American Fork, or Milcreek (South Side). It also goes into much greater detail than Michael R Kelsey's "Utah Mountaineering Guide", and David Hall's "Hiking Utah", because it focuses just on the Salt Lake County section of the Wasatch, not the entire Range, or State of Utah. In the end, it is the Bible of general hiking in the Wasatch Range.