Day & Section Hikes Pacific Crest Trail: Southern California Paperback – Illustrated, July 17, 2012

During the annual two weeks of torment known as "testing," I took an hour out of my classroom routine to show my students, all 5th graders, a compilation of photos and short videos from last year's (2011) crop of Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) hikers. My students were quite intrigued. Coming from a poor urban environment, few have been exposed to wilderness activities, and for most the thought of hiking over 2,000 miles was a completely new concept. "Did you note," I asked them, "that almost all the hikers in this video were right out of college or just retired? Why do you think that is?" I got varied answers but finally had to point out to them that essentially, only people who are healthy and have lots of free time can devote 5 to 6 months just to hiking a single trail. For the rest of us, with jobs, children, and other contingencies in life, hiking a long distance trail is mostly fantasy. But you don't have to do the whole thing either. You can still experience some of the majesty and beauty of America's premier hiking trail on a nice day trip or over a weekend, and David Money Harris's new book can show you how.Let's face it; not every mile of the 2,650 that make up the PCT is equally scenic. Some stretches of trail are much nicer than others, and in some places one can make great loop hikes by taking the trail and then veering off on other established trails in a region. This collection of hikes will show you were these loops are possible and also direct you to other stretches of the trail that deserve a quick out and back excursion. Those with the resources to do a longer backpack trip (and who can arrange cars at each end of a stretch of trail) will also find in these pages some longer weekend point to point hikes. In all, this book presents a very balanced selection of hikes, some of which are easy enough to take small children on, and others of which will challenge any weekend warrior. In all, it represents a very nice effort.Harris's book is divided into five chapters, each covering roughly one major mountain range in southern California. From the San Diego backcountry to the southern Sierra (south of Mt. Whitney), you should be able to find several hikes among the 31 described here to suit your abilities. You will also find a wide variety of destinations. I have a personal preference for mountain summits and while I have hiked most of the routes found in this book, some sections of trail deserve repeated visits. I strongly recommend the hikes to Garnet Peak, Cougar Crest, Eagle Rock, Mt. Baden Powell, and Skinner Peak. Every hike in the book includes round trip mileage (one way for shuttle trips) and a "star rating" system (one to five) on everything from scenery to difficulty and chance for solitude. A well written route description, sketch map, elevation profiles, and GPS coordinates for trail heads and points of interest rounds out every suggested hike found in these chapters. In all, this is a well written and well organized book.So, besides the features outlined above, are there any other compelling reasons to buy this book? Well, yes. The author is donating all profits from this publication to the Pacifc Crest Trail Association (PCTA), and this is an organization worthy of support. PCTA maintains the PCT, and many other miles of trail. Just this summer I met PCT volunteers busy clearing literally hundreds of downed trees from the trails around Devil's Postpile National Monument. These volunteers managed, over the course of several long days, to clear more miles of trail than a professional trail crew could expect to maintain in the course of a long summer. And their work was not just confined to the PCT. Day hikers and backpackers of all backgrounds benefited from their efforts and the author is to be commended for his generous donation to this incredible organization.After showing my kids the video of the 2011 hike, I noted to them that they are all 11 years away from graduating from college. And I am 11 years away from retirement. I asked how many would like to join me then for a long distance hike on the PCT and was pleasantly surprised by 15 immediate volunteers. Who knows if that will ever pan out. As one of my friends pointed out, this would make for a great reality TV show. But in the meantime, I plan to continue hiking short sections of this wonderful trail, and using the resources of Harris's latest book to help me do so.

Great book has extensive detail on PCT through hiking, day hiking and mutli day hikes. only thing I would change is tah i would like more multi day hikes outline.

Hiking references are not conducive to kindle's. Maps are sideways...turn the kindle sideways and map again goes sideways; not much use to me. Also, the maps cannot be zoomed so overall they provide minimal use. The author does state at the beginning that he hiked some of the pct and did not enjoy the trail, therefor did not include them. I appreciate his perspective to say he did not like the trail, but the information would also be useful. The descriptions of the trail was fairly good and informative. I did find navigating unwieldy.

Quick reference guide for day hikes. We ordered this to do short hikes before attempting any longer PCT adventures. After paging through, it is exactly what we were hoping for and we will use it for this summer's short hikes.

Great PCT Reference. I had 3 days, choose 3 hikes based on book. Great Info, Very Helpful info to get you to Trailheads

This is exactly what the title implies - section and say hikes for the PCT in southern CA. The hikes are well chosen, and documented superbly.

My husband bought this thinking it would have actual PCT hikes, just sectionalized. He was disappointed to find out that most hikes just crossed the trail or else a small section was along the trail before veering off. He was looking for a book that would focus on the PCT only.

This book is perfect. I only have the time for 2 to 3 day hikes. tells how to get to trail heads clearly.