The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes, Trails, 3rd Ed.

If you must own only one guidebook for the Sierra Nevada, this is the one to get. Here, Secor expands upon his first edition--itself being built on those which have gone before. With each new version, improvement comes from the additional routes, new information, more illustrations. And, errors are found and corrected.The pictures are particularly good this time around, with many of the important routes sketched in. Many climbers will prefer to simply take along a copy of the picture (first getting the publisher's permission, of course) rather than the written description.No matter what your reasons are for venturing into the high country, this book should satisfy all your planning and informational needs, and then some. An unfortunate byproduct is that--at over 460 pages and 2 pounds--few people will want to carry it on their backcountry trips.Simply put, Secor writes excellent guidebooks, and his experience shows. If I have any quibble with his present effort, it is that a number of the climbing routes are unnecessarily detailed and descriptive, leaving little for the first-timer to discover for himself. However, I have heard others say that many route descriptions are too skimpy for their liking, so you just can't please everyone.

Over the years I have used each and every edition of this book to plan many trips. It offers information that is simply unavailable from any other source. It is a mountaineers guide, not a rock climbers topo book, and I would not have it any other way. Sometimes all you have is "southeast ridge, class 3-4" and the rest is up to you! This book has given me many ideas, shown me things I would never have known about, and been a great help selecting goals for trips.I was recently comparing the second and third editions. One thing I definitely miss from the second edition is the "wrinkles" section at the end of each chapter. It was a big mistake to leave this out. I also noticed that in a few places Secor decided to drop some personal comments, which is too bad. I would much rather have some human flavor than have a sterilized guidebook. Paper and binding were better on the second edition, shame on you mountaineers! I guess I will just have to keep all the editions. Maybe this is space pressure and this book needs to become multiple volumes in the future. No book is perfect, this one is unique and special for anyone who loves the Sierra.

thank you for the beautiful book. It arrived quickly and in new condition.

Easy to read and well organized. Useful for trip planning as well as arm chair hiking and climbing on a rainy day. A little something for everyone, including permit, trail head, trail, and climbing route info with useful photos showing the various routes. It is a bit more of a nuts and bolts (cams and biners??...sorry)guide for the mountain climber rather than a hiking guide. Lots of info on first ascents as well. My only criticism is the maps, which are a bit lacking in detail.

A classic, and the data you need to plot your time in the Sierra for those trips off the beaten path. Properly focused on Yosemite south this book details the passes, peaks and trails (ha! who wants trails?) to explore. Sure, you can plod the JMT with the herds, or you can find a bit of nirvana to call all for your self for a few days. A wonderful reference.

This is not a hiking trail guide. Think of it as an encyclopedia of the entire high Sierra Nevada range. It has a short description of all the major trails and climbing routes, instead of a lengthy turn by turn guide. It also lists the class rating for climbing and moutaineering routes using the Yosemite Decimal System. This is for more advanced climbers/hikers who want to go beyond the popular and well maintained trails.Personally, I found the most useful way to use this book, is to determine an area I want to explore, find out the name of trails or peaks, then Google the photos or detailed descriptions for said trails/peaks.

This is the definitive book for Sierra climbing and off-trail hiking. An outstanding resource you will refer to often. I have the print edition and the Kindle edition and much prefer the print edition as it is easier to locate specific mountains, cols or passes by using the index. The Kindle edition has an index but it isn't hypertext so you cannot just click on the mountain or col you want and be taken to the article.

I have loved using this book to discover new spots to go when thinking about backpacking, fishing, or mountaineering. The descriptions are really well done and the pictures with topos are super helpful.

great information for all levels of backcountry hiking climbing experience. obviously topo maps need to be searched for to get better insight into possible routes