Sierra North by Elizabeth Wenk

Sierra North by Elizabeth Wenk

Find the Best Hikes and Backpacking Trips in California's Sierra Nevada

The rush of trekking through nature, the thrill of experiencing new places, the reward of discovering beautiful sights--all of this awaits in the Sierra Nevada. For more than 50 years, this definitive guidebook has led readers along the top trails between the mountain range's northern boundary and the southern edge of Yosemite National Park. Now, with this revised and updated edition, let hiking experts Elizabeth Wenk and Mike White show you the way.

Sierra North is the award-winning guide that features 80 meticulously selected trips, from new routes to old favorites. Traverse Hoover Wilderness, Ansel Adams Wilderness, Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, Emigrant Wilderness, Desolation Wilderness, and more. The trips are organized around major highways and roads, so it's easy to choose your next adventure. Just pick an area, drive there, and go hiking.

Inside you'll find

• 80 trips that range from quick overnighters to 11-day excursions
• Complete trip details, including day-by-day trail descriptions, GPS waypoints, and elevation data
• 36 trailhead maps that show the routes for every trip
• Beginner tips and trusted advice on camping, fishing, and bear safety
• Information on side trips, geology, natural history, and more

Planning your trip into the northern Sierra backcountry is easier than ever before. For additional hiking and backpacking opportunities, see the companion guide Sierra South. Both titles are recipients of a National Outdoor Book Award.

Mike grew up in the Portland suburbs, in the shadow of Mt. Hood. Hood (when the sky in the Pacific Northwest cleared sufficiently to allow shadows). His mother didn't drive, so she, like her small kid, walked everywhere. Mike began exploring further afield when he reached driving age, hiking, backpacking, and climbing in the Oregon and Washington Cascades. Throughout his time at Seattle Pacific University, he polished his outdoor skills even more.

Mike moved to the high desert of Reno, Nevada, after college, where he was captivated to the gorgeous and bright Sierra. This led to many wonderful adventures, including trekking expeditions to the four corners of his chosen state of Nevada. Mike left his last professional work (with an engineering firm) in the early 1990s and began writing full-time about the outdoors. The Trinity Alps, Luther Linkhart's classic book, was his first effort for Wilderness Publishing, and it was an update and enlargement of Luther Linkhart's classic guide.

Nevada Wilderness Areas and Great Basin National Park were his next books, followed by the Snowshoe Trails series and Top Trails Lake Tahoe. Mike has also written for Sunset and Backpacker magazines, as well as the Reno Gazette-Journal, and has contributed to Backpacking California. Mike shares his outdoor knowledge with students in Truckee Meadows Community College's hiking, backpacking, and snowshoeing classes. He and his wife, Robin, live in Reno with their two sons, David and Stephen, as well as their yellow lab, Barkley.