This book is a guide to perhaps Utah's best known mountain, Mt. Timpanogos, or Timp for short. Timp is located due north of Provo, and it dominates all of Utah Valley. Timp has now been made into a wilderness area. 
 Timp is famous for several reasons. One, it's the second highest peak in the Wasatch Mountains at 3581 meters; it has the closest thing to a real glacier in the state; and between the years 1912 and 1970, there was an event called the Annual Timp Hike. Over the years, thousands of people climbed the mountain, usually on the 3rd or 4th weekend of July. The reward at the summit was a "summit badge". One man collected 42 badges before this annual ended. But it got too popular and the mountain got loved to death, as about 7000 hikers were on the mountain in 1970. After that, they called the whole thing off, because of the mess made of the mountain. 
 The book has 14 maps showing climbing routes. This is a huge mountain with 7 cirque basins, all at or near treeline. Its summit ridge is 7 kms long, from North Peak to the South Summits, all of which have an elevation above about 3400 meters. This book discusses routes for both summer and winter climbing. 
 Besides a hiking or climbing section, the book also features the story of the Annual Timp Hike, some of the history of Provo and American Fork Canyons, including a history of Robert Redford's ski resort, Sundance. Also, the history of the train dubbed the Heber Creeper, along with the Timpanogos Cave which is now a national monument. Another chapter discusses tragedies on the mountain, including hiking accidents, air plane crashes, snowslides and murders. Many local people, those who have spent lots of time on the mountain, consider this book to be a kind of second bible.

Climbing and Exploring Utah's Mt. Timpanogos

Sports & Outdoors

Kelsey, Michael

Hiking & Camping

Kelsey Pub

This book tells the life & death story of a little town in south central Utah. Clear Lake was situated along the Union Pacific Railway line about halfway between Delta and Milford. Life began in the late winter of 1880, when railway crews working south first built a raillway grade through what would later be a town. Tracks were layed a month or so later. Soon after the arrival of the tracks, the descision was made to make this site the arrival and/or departure point for residence of the Fillmore area. Soon a caravansari-type lodging and a post office were set up. In the 1890's, more passengers were arriving or departing to and from Fillmore, located to the east. Also, dams and an irrigation system were set up just to the west. In the early 1900's, a canal was built from a large spring and small lake about 7-8 kms east of the tracks, which brought water to Clear Lake town and an alfalfa growing ranch was set up.  Also, beginning in the late 1890's, a store was built which catered tp sheepmen who roamed Utah's West Desert during the winter months. Later the Bond family bought the store & hotel and combined them into one building. The town never got very large; there was always a crew of men working on the railroad, several ranch hands at The Ranch, the Bond family at the store & hotel, and a Quaker family by the last name of John. The John family, consisted of 6 daughters, lived there about 40 years altogether.  The beginning of the end of Clear Lake occurred when the State of Utah condemed the water for the town and made plans for a wildlife refuge to the east where you will now find a real lake and swampy area with lost of waterfowl and wildlife. Town residents took the State to court, but lost. Although they were given some money, the town couldn't survive without water. The post office was officially closed on December 31, 1936. All buildings were either torn down or transported to other nearby towns.  The story of Clear Lake is told mostly by former resident's own personal experiences, most of whom are now dead. Also included is a rather complete list of all former school teachers and station agents, as well as the addresses of about half of Clear Lakes buildings, many of which are still standing in nearby towns.

Life on the Black Rock Desert--A History of Clear Lake, Utah

History

Americas

This book centers on the Henry Mountains of southeastern Utah, which are just south of the small town of Hanksville, and east of Canyonlands National Park and the upper end of Lake Powell. The main emphasis of this book is a climbing guide to the half dozen major peaks in the Henrys; plus canyon hiking in the area just east of the mountains, and along the Dirty Devil River, which runs through the Roost Country. There are 37 mapped areas for hiking and climbing. 
 This book combines a hiking &amp; mountain climbing and a travel guide to the Henry Mountains, as well as the Robbers Roost Country, an area made famous by Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid and the Wild Bunch. The Roost Country is east of Hanksville. 
 Other chapters center on the history of the Henry Mountains and its mining and old historic ranches, including the Robbers Roost Ranch. In this section are lots of old miners tales about lost Spanish mines, and of course a discussion on the unique geology of the Henrys. There's also a chapter on some of the archeology ruins and the usual assortment of rock art sites in the area. But that part in the history section that takes up the most space is the Life and Legend of Butch Cassidy. Butch is dead as a doornail, but researchers are still hard at work trying to find out what happened after he returned to the USA from South American; so his final chapter has still not been written.

Hiking and Exploring Utah's Henry Mountains and Robbers Roost

Kelsey, Michael R.

Science & Math

This is a guide for boater's who are floating the Green River downcanyon from Green River town, located on Interstate Highway 70, south to The Confluence with the Colorado River and Spanish Bottom. it's also, for boaters running down the Colorado River from Moab to The Confluence with the Green River. Part of the area in this book is in Canyonlands National Park. 
 The primary emphasis of this book is hiking, but the best places to camp are also discussed, as well as places where hopefully-good drinking water can be found. The hikes typically start at the river and run upcanyon or to the canyon rim--just the opposite way as some hikes found in the author's other book, "Hiking, Biking and Exploring Canyonlands National Park and Vicinity". There are 18 mapped sections or chapters, each showing campsites, water, trails, Anasazi ruins, and pictographs or petroglyphs (something the National Park Service does not like, therefore they don't sell this book). 
 History is also a big part of this book, with lots of information on the early-day attempts at running steamboats on the Green and Colorado Rivers between the towns of Green River and Moab. In those days many people tried to homestead some river bottoms. Sandbars and low water cut those dreams short. 
 While doing research for this book (and the other one mentioned above), the author interviewed about 80 old timers in the Moab, Green River and the Hanksville area, and got lots of stories about cowboys, the ranchers and ranches along the river bottoms, and trail building information. Some of the history here is the same as that found in the other book mentioned above.

River Guide to Canyonland's National Park and Vicinity

The emphasis of the book is on hiking in Canyonlands National Park &amp; vicinity of eastern Utah. This park is located west of Moab and south of the town of Green River, in the area where the Green and the Coloardo Rivers meet--locally known as The Confluence. But because not everyone has a 4WD vehicle, the author tells where a mountain bike can get you closer to a hike or canyon rim--without buying an SUV. The emphasis is getting people out to the rim of these major river canyons, and/or into a side canyon, and down to the bottom, or to one of the rivers. 
 In many cases, hikers use old cattle trails. And this brings up the another part of this book; cowboy, ranching and trail building history. In gathering information, the author interviewed about 80 old timers who were born and raised in this county. In doing that, he has documented who built these trails and cabins, and when they were constructed. The same is true with several old abandoned ranches in the canyons. Many of those interviewed have since deceased, so their stories are long gone and lost forever--except in this book. 
 As usual, the author has documented on his maps any archeological sites including Anasazi ruins and petroglyphs &amp; pictographs. Keep this in mind when you look at books in the national park visitor centers. No book there will show you any archeological sites! That's the reason the National Park Service (NPS) sells very few of this writer's books--because he always lets his readers know where they can hike to find Indian ruins or rock art. Falcon Press books, which are totally saturating the market these day, are often sold at visitor centers, embraced, and seemingly half-written by the NPS, but none will show you where Anasazi sites are. 
 You'll also get a good dose of geology, and the theories of how Upheaval Dome came to be. The latest ideas point toward a meteorite, not a salt dome as previously believed.

Hiking, Biking & Exploring Canyonlands National Park and Vicinity: Featuring : Hiking, Biking, Geology, Archaeology, and Cowboy, Ranching & Trail Bu

Basically a hiking guide, this book includes history and geology of the area, hiking tips, rules and regulations, and much more!

Hiking and Exploring the Paria River: Including : The Story of John D. Lee and Mountain Meadows Massacre

Michael R. Kelsey

This is a hiking guide to the Paria River drainage of southern Utah. The upper part of the system begins near Bryce Canyon National Park, and flows south to the Colorado River and Lee's Ferry. Lee's Ferry is not far below the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. Many people have now heard of the hike down the Paria, but there are many less-known and less-visited parts of this drainage included in this book. 
 This guide covers the entire river system, including a couple of mountain climbs in the far north, plus the dozen or so slot canyons in the middle and lower end. The more famous slot canyons are Bull Valley Gorge, the scene of a pickup wreck (still lodged in the slot) which left 3 hunters dead. Also,Round Valley Draw, the Buckskin Gulch and of course the Paria itself. This 3rd Edition includes for the first time Coyote Buttes and its best know part, The Wave, an international destination for fotographers. For this edition, 16 pages and several new hiking areas have been added, plus the author re-hiked many canyons and updated all of them. This editon has 178 fotographs. 
 As in previous edtions, the history of early-day ranchers and cattlemen are included. The history of gold miners at Lee's Ferry and around the old ghost town of Pahreah is also discussed. And the best story of all is that of John D. Lee, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre (about 120 people were killed), and his life on the run from Federal authorities. It was John D. Lee who was sent by the Mormon Church to the lower end of the Paria River to hide out and build &amp; operate a ferry across the Colorado River. His entire life story is told.

Hiking and Exploring the Paria River : Including The Story of John D. Lee and Mountain Meadows Massacre

This book covers the same areas as previous editions, but with lots of updates, plus half a dozen completely new hiking regions are included. Lots of new history added too. One is a hike, or drive if the 4WD road it's too bad, to and area where in 1943, a US Army Air Force plane went down–which happens to be in a very scenic place. Also included in the history part are a couple of shoot-outs: one being the killing of Shoot-'Em-Bill Hatfield, of Hatfield &amp; McCoy's fame, along with new history of the San Rafael Ranches, the old mail trail running between Green River and Hanksville, plus more. It also has the story of the 2 young sheepherders who shot Sheriff Burns in 1894 in the mountains east of Castle Valley, but escaped to McCarty Canyon where they had a shootout with other marshals. Those marshals were guided by Sid &amp; Rod Swasey. Those 2 boys escaped and lived their lives elsewhere–but no one knows where they went, or under what new names they may have used. If their kinfolk know, they aren't talking! Also in this edition is an updated history of the Swasey family and their adventures in the San Rafael region. All that research is the reason this book is a little late coming out. Also, new to this edition are lots more hikes to rock art sites.

Hiking and Exploring Utah's San Rafael Swell 3rd Edition

This book is a guide to Lake Powell, which has formed behind the Glen Canyon Dam in the middle part of the Colorado River. The dam is located in extreme northern Arizona, near the town of Page, but 99.9% of Lake Powell is in Utah. It has a shoreline of 2900 kms or 1800 miles. 
 The emphasis of this book is on hiking with boater access. Also covered are potential campsites, geology, history of the early pioneers and cattlemen; the ones who came to build trails, look for minerals, and explore. Excerpts from the John W. Powell and the Dominquez &amp; Escalante expedition diaries have been added in the appropriate locations, plus archeological sites and their history are documented using studies from the Universities of Utah and Northern Arizona from the 1950's, before the lake covered many of the sites. There are 43 mapped areas, which show inlets and the canyons above, and hiking and camping information. Shown on these maps are Anasazi ruins, petroglyphs, and other information for mostly day-hiking. All sections of the lake are included, from Cataract Canyon in the upper end, to the San Juan Arm; plus the Escalante River drainage and its many great hiking canyons, and Rainbow Bridge, the one of the largest in the world. There are also lots of great slot canyons with boater access only; these include West Canyon, maybe the best all-around canyon hike on the Colorado Plateau. This 2nd Updated (3rd) Edition has 251 fotographs, including 10 color fotos on the front &amp; back covers.

Boater's Guide to Lake Powell: Featuring Hiking, Camping, Geology, History and Archaeology (4th Edition)

Travel

Specialty Travel

This book includes the Blue John Canyon which is featured in the movie 127 Hours, the story about Aron Ralston and his experience. The Colorado Plateau is a large physiographic region covering roughly the southeastern half of Utah, the northern half of Arizona, the western fifth of Colorado and a small area in the northwestern corner of New Mexico. It basically includes the middle third of the Colorado River drainage. Almost all the canyons in this book are in Utah but with a few --some of the best, in northern Arizona near the town of Page and on Navajo Nation lands. This is a technical slot canyon guide the the Colorado Plateau. As defined here, Technical Slot means a very narrow canyon often a meter wide or less, usually requireing ropes &amp; rappelling, and/or high-stemming and difficult up/down climbing to get all the way through.

Technical Slot Canyon Guide to the Colorado Plateau

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