University of Nevada Press, 2007 eISBN: 978-0-87417-717-6 | Paper: 978-0-87417-700-8 Library of Congress Classification F868.S5K64 2007 Dewey Decimal Classification 917.94
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
ABOUT THIS BOOK
The complete guide to the entire Sierra NevadaThe Sierra Nevada is one of the most scenic, biologically diverse, and historically rich mountain ranges in North America. Touring the Sierra Nevada covers the entire range and its adjacent regions, exploring the Sierra Nevada from such world-famous sites as Lake Tahoe and Yosemite to picturesque mining towns, scenic alpine lakes, lush vineyards, and colorful hidden byways. Koehler offers suggestions for long tours and exciting daytrips, as well as detailed information about the history, geology, flora and fauna, economy, and unique features of places along the way. The book is illustrated with photographs and maps of the regions she describes. Koehler includes excursions for automobile travelers as well as backcountry adventures for hikers. She provides information about attractions in the Sierra’s two “jumping-off” cities, Sacramento and Reno, as well as in some of the major towns within the range. There is practical advice about contacting parks, museums, historical sites, visitors’ bureaus, U.S. Forest Service offices, and other agencies; finding lodging, campgrounds, and restaurants along the way; preparing for weather and altitude changes; and identifying further sources of information about the region in published guides and other books, as well as on websites. Koehler offers her readers the literary companionship of an experienced, charming, and vivacious guide through one of America’s most fascinating regions.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Cheryl Koehler is a journalist and freelance writer who has worked for several Northern California newspapers. She is the editor and publisher of Edible East Bay. She lives in Oakland, California.
REVIEWS
"This extensive guide to the Sierras has the feel of old-fashioned adventure, of travel the way it once was. The unhurried pace, the absorbing of the history and mythology of a place—the Sierras are rich in both. Cheryl Angelina Koehler offers excerpts from writer-naturalists like John Muir ('The Mountains of California') and William H. Brewer ('Up and Down California in 1860-1864') and clips from the Overland Monthly and the Sonora Herald. She heads southward along the 400-mile spine, preferring the higher elevations but without the pretension of peak-baggers. 'Practical Matters' include advice on where to stay, what to worry about (or no—man-eating bears are gone from California, for example). There are maps, photos, recipes (Basque sheepherder's bread, wild mushroom stew). Every so often, she waxes lyrical: 'A glance down the long trail ahead and an August breeze that whispers of coming snow do little to dispel the urgent desire to linger in the moment, in the endless sweep of sky and rock, or beside a dwarf thicket of ancient willow where glacial melt trickles down through stair-step meadows.'"—Susan Salter Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 11 March 2007
"This outstanding guide is essential." - Library Journal
This one is in a class of its own...it's a marvelous work, done with obvious care mixed with a love of the subject...you can't go wrong with this one." - Nevada Appeal
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Know Before You Go
Weather and Climate
Some Cautionary Advice
1 Revelations on Interstate 80
Through the Golden Gate to Sacramento
Gold Run to Dutch Flat
Emigrant Gap
Donner Pass
Mount Judah
Donner Lake
Truckee
A Side Trip from Truckee on Highway 89
Reno
Practical Matters
2 Tahoe
Da ow a ga
Southwest Shore
West Shore
A Side Trip Down the Lower Truckee River
North Shore
East Shore and the Carson Range
South Shore
Practical Matters
3 Central Sierra Crossings
Early Sierra Crossings
U.S. 50: The Johnson Cut-Off
Highway 88 Through Carson Pass
East Carson River Country
Highway 4 Through Ebbetts Pass
Highway 108 Through Sonora Pass
Practical Matters
4 U.S. 395: Mono County
Antelope Valley and the West Walker River
Bridgeport Valley
Bodie State Historic Park
Into the Mono Basin
June Lake Loop
The Lands of the Long Valley Caldera
Convict Lake
Rock Creek and Little Lakes Valley
Practical Matters
5 U.S. 395: Owens Valley
Ice Age Owens Valley
Down the Sherwin Grade
Bishop
Bishop to Big Pine
From Big Pine to Independence
Manzanar National Historic Site
Lone Pine and Surrounds
Owens Lake
Fossil Falls
Practical Matters
6 The Southernmost Sierra
From Tehachapi Pass to Isabella Lake
Around Isabella Lake
Highway 178 Through Walker Pass
The Kern Plateau and Route 41
Practical Matters
7 The High Sierra
Highway 198 to Sequoia National Park
Kings Canyon National Park
Along the John Muir Trail
The High Sierra of the San Joaquin River
Practical Matters
8 Yosemite National Park
Yosemite Valley
Tioga Road
Highway 120--Big Oak Flat Entrance
Highway 140--Arch Rock Entrance
Wawona Road to the South Entrance
Practical Matters
9 Gold Country: A Tour on Highway 49
The California Gold Rush: A Brief History
Mariposa County
Tuolumne County
Calaveras County
Amador County
Wine Country Tour
El Dorado County Gold and Wine
Placer County
Western Nevada County
Sierra County
Sierra Valley
Practical Matters
10 The Lost Sierra
Portola
Lakes Basin Recreation Area
Plumas-Eureka State Park
Blairsden to Quincy
Quincy and Surrounds
Indian Valley
North Fork Feather River
Lake Oroville
Heart of the Lost Sierra
Practical Matters
11 Topics of Interest to Sierra Travelers
A Primer on Sierra Conifers
My Favorite Fauna
Thoughts on Sierra Geology
Plant and Animal Names
Appendix
Index
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
University of Nevada Press, 2007 eISBN: 978-0-87417-717-6 Paper: 978-0-87417-700-8
The complete guide to the entire Sierra NevadaThe Sierra Nevada is one of the most scenic, biologically diverse, and historically rich mountain ranges in North America. Touring the Sierra Nevada covers the entire range and its adjacent regions, exploring the Sierra Nevada from such world-famous sites as Lake Tahoe and Yosemite to picturesque mining towns, scenic alpine lakes, lush vineyards, and colorful hidden byways. Koehler offers suggestions for long tours and exciting daytrips, as well as detailed information about the history, geology, flora and fauna, economy, and unique features of places along the way. The book is illustrated with photographs and maps of the regions she describes. Koehler includes excursions for automobile travelers as well as backcountry adventures for hikers. She provides information about attractions in the Sierra’s two “jumping-off” cities, Sacramento and Reno, as well as in some of the major towns within the range. There is practical advice about contacting parks, museums, historical sites, visitors’ bureaus, U.S. Forest Service offices, and other agencies; finding lodging, campgrounds, and restaurants along the way; preparing for weather and altitude changes; and identifying further sources of information about the region in published guides and other books, as well as on websites. Koehler offers her readers the literary companionship of an experienced, charming, and vivacious guide through one of America’s most fascinating regions.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Cheryl Koehler is a journalist and freelance writer who has worked for several Northern California newspapers. She is the editor and publisher of Edible East Bay. She lives in Oakland, California.
REVIEWS
"This extensive guide to the Sierras has the feel of old-fashioned adventure, of travel the way it once was. The unhurried pace, the absorbing of the history and mythology of a place—the Sierras are rich in both. Cheryl Angelina Koehler offers excerpts from writer-naturalists like John Muir ('The Mountains of California') and William H. Brewer ('Up and Down California in 1860-1864') and clips from the Overland Monthly and the Sonora Herald. She heads southward along the 400-mile spine, preferring the higher elevations but without the pretension of peak-baggers. 'Practical Matters' include advice on where to stay, what to worry about (or no—man-eating bears are gone from California, for example). There are maps, photos, recipes (Basque sheepherder's bread, wild mushroom stew). Every so often, she waxes lyrical: 'A glance down the long trail ahead and an August breeze that whispers of coming snow do little to dispel the urgent desire to linger in the moment, in the endless sweep of sky and rock, or beside a dwarf thicket of ancient willow where glacial melt trickles down through stair-step meadows.'"—Susan Salter Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 11 March 2007
"This outstanding guide is essential." - Library Journal
This one is in a class of its own...it's a marvelous work, done with obvious care mixed with a love of the subject...you can't go wrong with this one." - Nevada Appeal
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Know Before You Go
Weather and Climate
Some Cautionary Advice
1 Revelations on Interstate 80
Through the Golden Gate to Sacramento
Gold Run to Dutch Flat
Emigrant Gap
Donner Pass
Mount Judah
Donner Lake
Truckee
A Side Trip from Truckee on Highway 89
Reno
Practical Matters
2 Tahoe
Da ow a ga
Southwest Shore
West Shore
A Side Trip Down the Lower Truckee River
North Shore
East Shore and the Carson Range
South Shore
Practical Matters
3 Central Sierra Crossings
Early Sierra Crossings
U.S. 50: The Johnson Cut-Off
Highway 88 Through Carson Pass
East Carson River Country
Highway 4 Through Ebbetts Pass
Highway 108 Through Sonora Pass
Practical Matters
4 U.S. 395: Mono County
Antelope Valley and the West Walker River
Bridgeport Valley
Bodie State Historic Park
Into the Mono Basin
June Lake Loop
The Lands of the Long Valley Caldera
Convict Lake
Rock Creek and Little Lakes Valley
Practical Matters
5 U.S. 395: Owens Valley
Ice Age Owens Valley
Down the Sherwin Grade
Bishop
Bishop to Big Pine
From Big Pine to Independence
Manzanar National Historic Site
Lone Pine and Surrounds
Owens Lake
Fossil Falls
Practical Matters
6 The Southernmost Sierra
From Tehachapi Pass to Isabella Lake
Around Isabella Lake
Highway 178 Through Walker Pass
The Kern Plateau and Route 41
Practical Matters
7 The High Sierra
Highway 198 to Sequoia National Park
Kings Canyon National Park
Along the John Muir Trail
The High Sierra of the San Joaquin River
Practical Matters
8 Yosemite National Park
Yosemite Valley
Tioga Road
Highway 120--Big Oak Flat Entrance
Highway 140--Arch Rock Entrance
Wawona Road to the South Entrance
Practical Matters
9 Gold Country: A Tour on Highway 49
The California Gold Rush: A Brief History
Mariposa County
Tuolumne County
Calaveras County
Amador County
Wine Country Tour
El Dorado County Gold and Wine
Placer County
Western Nevada County
Sierra County
Sierra Valley
Practical Matters
10 The Lost Sierra
Portola
Lakes Basin Recreation Area
Plumas-Eureka State Park
Blairsden to Quincy
Quincy and Surrounds
Indian Valley
North Fork Feather River
Lake Oroville
Heart of the Lost Sierra
Practical Matters
11 Topics of Interest to Sierra Travelers
A Primer on Sierra Conifers
My Favorite Fauna
Thoughts on Sierra Geology
Plant and Animal Names
Appendix
Index
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE