SIERRA NEVADA

Explore a spectacular new hiking route from Yosemite to Mount Whitney, learn to nd your own food in the mountains, or join a cyclist on the ride of a lifetime from Lake Tahoe into Mexico. Despite record-breaking snowpack blanketing the Sierra Nevada range, these rewarding adventures are possible through three new books by four inspiring authors.

“SIERRA GRAND TRAVERSE: AN EPIC ROUTE ACROSS THE

RANGE OF LIGHT,” by John and Monica Chapman, outlines a 200-mile hike that roughly parallels the John Muir Trail. While thousands of backpackers ramble along the popular Muir each year, the Chapmans are the rst known hikers to trek the alternate route they pioneered.

eir course promises a di erent experience than betterknown trails because those who follow it will seldom walk on trails. Instead, they will travel cross-country through two national forests, three national parks and ve wilderness areas.

Not a beginners hike, Sierra Grand Traverse runs mostly above tree line between 9,000 and 12,000 feet, involving 56,000 feet of elevation change, nearly twice the height of Mount Everest. ose who explore the full length will climb over 41 mountain passes and cross many miles of loose rocks and rough terrain.

Great rewards await those who brave this journey. e

Chapmans mapped a trek through scenic beauty which few have ever visited or seen.

“Compared to other recognized trails and routes in the Sierra Nevada, this traverse spends less time on trails, has more miles above tree line, crosses more passes and visits more lakes. It features spectacular scenery and many beautiful lake basins, highlighting the range’s grand scenery, hence the name: Sierra Grand Traverse,” they wrote.

Covering the full distance will take from 25 to 45 days, the Chapmans estimate, but hikers need not attempt it all. e authors divided their route into ve sections, each with accessible trailheads. e shortest is 25 miles long from Piute Pass to Dusy Basin in Inyo National Forest.

As much as hikers love the John Muir Trail, anyone who’s been denied an elusive permit or longed for a more private wilderness experience will appreciate the Chapmans’ creation. e book features beautiful photography, detailed maps, and more than 200 pages of helpful directions and suggestions. Previously, the world travelers published 15 guidebooks

“HAD WE LIVED 500 YEARS AGO, EVEN TRAVELING FROM COUNTY TO COUNTY WOULD HAVE BEEN A CULINARY ADVENTURE. FOR THE MOST PART, PEOPLE ATE WHAT GREW WHERE THEY LIVED. SO WHAT DID THE FOOD OF THE HIGH SIERRA TASTE LIKE? THE BEST WAY TO ANSWER THAT NOW IS TO EAT FROM THE LAND – HARVEST THE WILD EDIBLES.”

— MIA ANDLER

about hiking in their native Australia.

“For determined backpackers with reliable navigation skills, the adventure of a lifetime awaits,” they wrote.

“THE SIERRA FORAGER”

by Mia Andler

Long-distance backpackers know all about hiker hunger, so learning to nd our own food in the wilderness makes mountains of sense. To teach us how, author Mia Andler has penned “ e Sierra Forager: Your Guide to Edible Wild Plants of the Tahoe, Yosemite and Mammoth Regions.”

Foraging from wild plants not only feeds the hungry, it also educates us about ecosystems we live in and visit, she wrote.

“Had we lived 500 years ago, even traveling from county to county would have been a culinary adventure. For the most part, people ate what grew where they lived,” Andler wrote.

“So what did the food of the High Sierra taste like? e best way to answer that now is to eat from the land – harvest the wild edibles.”

Andler’s book advises readers about nding edible plants in each season. Summer features the most o erings, including