Exploring Wild Death Valley
Subtitle: a Primordial World of Discovery and Adventure
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc.
Published: July 3, 2007
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 306
ISBN-13: 9780595457496
Subjects: Death Valley National Park guide; Parks & Campgrounds; United States - West - Pacific (General); Travel / General; Travel / United States / West / Pacific (AK, CA, HI, NV, OR, WA); Travel : Parks & Campgrounds; Travel - United States
First sentence: EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER NINE: "I could wish to be no place else on Earth right now. Truly, this is the epitome of experiencing the refuge of the wild places. It is wild and natural. It is a world away from … well, that other life of artificial and mundane happenings that imprisons the collective society from which I sprang over half a century ago. I have broken away to this secret garden of nature, to know what the real world is, to get a feeling for what life was like when the first people of this land existed in this very spot ten-thousand years ago, and to seek that which is important to my emotional survival – the serenity of learning how I fit into the order of things."
Description: Leave behind the concrete and crowds of typical reality to journey where few will ever go. This book will interest the dedicated Death Valley backcountry enthusiast who loves to travel the most primitive backroads, hike secluded trails, and live in the outback for several days at a time. The core of the journal consists of ten chapters detailing hundreds of miles of travel, along with hikes to some of the more popular destinations, including to the top of Telescope Peak. Most of the chapters are written in a chronological day-by-day fashion, telling what it is like to actually take these extended trips into the outback. As each safari progresses, brief history of the particular areas is discussed, the natural world is described, and terrain detail is provided in the event that the reader wishes to attempt the outing personally. More than a typical turn-to-turn guide of the area's roads and hiking trails, this journal includes a healthy portion of philosophy, the love of nature, and emotional highs that come along with experiencing this type of notably remote territory. Through the reading of this book, one will have a powerful feel for the country that is essentially bounded by Death Valley National Park ... it is the next best thing to actually being in the backcountry personally.
Table of contents: title: Part One – BASECAMP; title: Preface: 	A World Lost In Time ….. 10; title: Introduction: 	Wild By Nature ….. 14; title: Foreword: 	Navigating The Wild Country ….. 20; title: Caution: 	Before We Head Out ….. 22; title: Part Two - ON SAFARI IN THE WILD PLACES; title: Chapter 1: 	Six Days In April ….. 26; title: Chapter 2: 	The Greenhorn Expeditions ….. 80; title: Chapter 3: 	Rendezvous With A Boulder ….. 91; title: Chapter 4: 	Teakettle Mama & Her Time Machine ….. 105; title: Chapter 5: 	Trail To The Sky ….. 122; title: Chapter 6: 	Wild Panamint! ….. 140; title: Chapter 7: 	Whisper On The Night Wind ….. 147; title: Chapter 8: 	The Roads Not Taken ….. 179; title: Chapter 9: 	Forever Wild And Free ….. 231; title: Chapter 10: Greatest Trek Of The Territory ….. 258; title: Part Three - END OF THE DAY; title: Terrain Travel: Road Classification Guide ….. 274; title: Essential Gear: Everything But The Kitchen Sink … 279; title: About The Author: Meet The Old Rascal Himself ….. 284; title: Afterword: Concluding Contemplations ….. 290; title: Reference: Academic Explorations ….. 293; title: Index: Of The Wild Places ….. 294; title: Farewell Poetry: Forever Wild and Death Valley ….. 299