Publisher's Synopsis
This guide is about hiking and generally exploring desert areas, specifically southwest Utah and adjacent areas (southern Nevada and northern Arizona). There is no better way to experience the ruggedness, the history of settlement by Native Americans and later pioneers, and the solitude than by simply hiking and exploring. My purpose in writing this book is to enhancement the enjoyment of all who wish to sample the richness of southwest Utah and adjacent areas. My wife, Deb Looker, accompanied me on every hike. This book is a testament to her love of the outdoors as much as mine. Through trial and error from scores of hikes, reading many hiking books, and much Internet research, we have become experienced desert hikers. More than 25 years ago we began seriously exploring the American southwest. During the first several years we concentrated on areas fairly close to our then home in Santa Barbara, California-the Mojave Desert around Barstow and Baker and Death Valley. We later branched out to Joshua Tree National Park and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in south central California. In the early 2000s Arizona became a favorite destination. Finally, we began exploring southern Utah in 2006. In the fall of 2009 we left California and settled in St. George, Utah. St. George is a great base camp for adventures in southwest Utah, southern Nevada, and northern Arizona. While we much enjoy the grandeur of big name desert national parks-Death Valley, Zion, Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon, and others-our preference is hard to find, out of the bustle of humanity, slot canyons. Fortunately, the area we choose to live is full of slot canyons. I wrote these stories to describe the natural beauty on our hikes, and as importantly to inspire people to get out and enjoy nature. Go outdoors and relax, leave the pressures of daily life behind for a few hours. These hikes are not hard-core three day backpacking treks through the wilderness. That is a great thing, but not for the vast majority of people, even those who enjoy the outdoors. There are many good hiking books with long, tough hikes-this is not one of them. These are more of "get off the couch or out of your daily rut" and see what nature, plate tectonics, and erosion have given you. These stories and hikes are for the average person/family that understands the value of nature, but never quite gets out to enjoy it.
