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48 Dog-Friendly Trails: in California's Foothills and the Sierra Nevada |  | Author: Debbi Preston
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Category: Book
List Price: $14.99
Buy New: $7.96
as of 11/21/2009 18:39 CST details
You Save: $7.03 (47%)
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Seller: sweethomeliquid2
Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 265162
Media: Paperback
Pages: 172
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 0.5
ISBN: 1434377660
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.5109794
EAN: 9781434377661
ASIN: 1434377660
Publication Date: July 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
A Guide to Day Hikes from Sacramento, California into the Foothills and the Sierra Nevada Hiking is great exercise, a fun family experience, and a way to explore new places. With the hikes in this book, you visit places when wildflowers are at their peak, waterfalls at their fullest, and crowds at a minimum. Hikes are arranged by month so no matter when you visit Sacramento, you will find something of interest to you and suitable to your physical ability. The trails in this book take you to places with great views, historical points of interest, fishing or swimming holes, and much more. ¿ 48 hikes all easily accomplished in a day trip¿ all dog-friendly places¿ many places for people with limited physical capabilities¿ interpretive trails to educate¿ place of historic interest¿ most hikes without any fees¿ progressive difficulty, starting with January the easiest, and finishing with more difficult hikes in October, November, and December¿ less ambitious options | Customer Reviews:
 Hikes for you and your dog for every weekend of the year August 2, 2009
R. Humphress (Rocklin, CA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Great book with hikes for every weekend of the year around the Sacramento area. We've used the book every time we've been able to hike this year and have not been disappointed with any of the hikes. The author chooses the right hikes for the time of year which is really nice esp when there are certain areas that flower only during small windows throughout the year. She times these hikes perfectly! The only reason I gave the book 4 stars was that the directions are a little vague if you're not completely familiar with the area.
 Pick up a copy and get started enjoying the great California foothills June 1, 2009
Sacramento Book Review (Sacramento, CA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Local Author - Debbi Preston has collected almost 50 well detailed hikes in and around the foothills and Sierra Nevadas, all within an easy drive from Sacramento. And as the title reflects, they all allow dogs on them. She organized the book by month, each having four trails that take advantage of the seasons for view, access and lack of crowds. There are plenty of note on the trails, on access, places of interest, difficulty (including elevation increases) and places for those with limited mobility. These are all easy day trips, and Preston also give some suggestions of things to do on the way there and after you are done. And all of them are dog friendly, though some are also horse trails, so keep that in mind if you have a skittish dog. Pick up a copy and get started enjoying the great California foothills.
 Very common hikes - not really dog focused May 31, 2009
GariRae (California)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
There are both good things and bad about this book. First the disappointments: this is not a book to buy if you live in the Sacramento Valley or the foothill area, as the recommended hikes are too well known, quite crowded, and many are shared with mountain bikes (11 out of the 45 hikes)and horses(7 out of 45; however, Dardanelles Lake was not listed as a horse trail, yet during my last visit, I encountered approximately 15 -20 horses and riders at the lake). Too many hikes are concentrated in the Highway 50 corridor around Wright's Lake and Desolation Valley, both of which are very busy outdoor areas (Desolation is a "wilderness" in name only). There are no hikes listed past Colfax on the Highway 80 route, which means beautiful areas of Tahoe and Plumas Forests were completely omitted. Overall, little exploration was used to find areas not already over-hiked. There are also many hikes that are 1-2 miles in length, which were included to provide "physical accessibiity" outings. These hikes are a nice touch in honor of the author's mother, but there are simply too many of them (9 out of 45 hikes) to make the book valuable for most hikers. Plus, traveling 50 - 100 miles for a 1-3 mile hike is not worth it for most people coming from Sacramento and beyond.
I respect the author's wish that hikers be safe and responsible, but the hiking "10 Essentials" listing is a bit out-dated and omits very critical items, such as a compass, rain gear, and flashlight, all of which were included in every 10 Essentials list I consulted. Especially in the Sierras in the summer, afternoon thundershowers are very common, so raingear is not something to leave home. Also, it was curious to me that a "hat" should be included in the Essentials list, but not a compass. Something that all lists now include is a category of "Firestarter", rather specifying matches. Most expert hikers bring two Bic-type lighters rather than matches, and the author's recommendation to bring "flint" definitely shows a lack of up-to-date information. The book includes a "good to bring list" but some of these items are critical for responsible hikers and dog-owners, such as spade, toilet paper, dog-poop bags, and leash. These should have been clearly noted as essentials for dog-hikers.
Now the good things: Arranging the hikes by month and with increasing difficulty is a very novel idea, as is the trail index that notes various features of the hikes (wildflowers, waterfalls, gold panning, etc.) The author also included a glossary of terms for the very beginner hiker (trailhead, service gate, riparian, etc...though a somewhat odd selection of terms).
In conclusion, all the good intent underlying the book does not make up for the rather mundane listing of hikes. It's too bad the author didn't spend more time exploring the national forest land available in the area and develop a better listing of hikes. In addition, the book is being sold as a source of "dog-friendly" trails, but with all the accessibility, mountain bike, and horse trail listings, it's false advertising to sell the book as dog-focused.
This book would be most appropriate for newby hikers who need to develop confidence in their outdoor skills and thus hike in areas that are well-traveled. The longer hikes would serve as a good introduction to the area if one lived outside of the Sacramento Valley/Gold Country. Overall, a hiker would be hard pressed to find quiet solitude with your dog using this book. Caveat: since receiving the book a couple of weeks ago, I have not used the book for a hike. That said, reviewing the descriptions of hikes that I've done, the directions seem accurate.
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