Next Adventure has expanded its outdoor information resources with new books and topographic maps.
In addition to the great titles already on our shelves, like William Sullivan's classic
100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon, The Mountaineers'
Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills, Scott Cook's
Curious Gorge, and Yogi's
PCT Guide, we've now got even more local trail guides, field guides, survival guides, topo maps and trip planning resources.
Here are some of the new local books off the shelf, and how they might be of interest to you:
Around & About Mount Hood: Exploring the Timberline Trail, Access Trails, and Day Hikes, by Sonia Buist with Emily Keller. A classic local, self-published guide to hiking Mt. Hood's Timberline Trail, broken out into day hikes. Sprinkled with bits of local history and natural history, with useful sketches and diagrams to keep you on the trail, and elevation profiles to let you know how steep the trail will be.
Off the Beaten Trail: 50 fantastic unknown hikes in NW Oregon and SW Washington, by Matt Reeder. While I can't say that all of the hikes were really all that unknown, I can say that this local self-published Portlander has done a fine job in selecting trails that lead to wilderness solitude. He uses reliable National Geographic
Topo! maps, and his route descriptions are easy to follow. Discover some new trails!
75 Scrambles in Oregon: best nontechnical ascents, by Barbara I. Bond. Hankering for more of a challenge than the established trails have to offer? Published by the
Mountaineers Books by yet another local Portlander, Barbara I. Bond is a climbing instructor and trip leader for the
Mazamas. Traverse rocky alpine ridges and scramble to the summit of non-technical peaks all over Oregon, including the Wallowas, Steens Mountain, the Siskyou Mountains, Southern Cascades, and even the Cooper Spur route up Mt. Hood.
Mountaineers Books at Next Adventure. You will find many of their titles on our shelves.>
Mount Hood South Side Route: The Climber's Ultimate Resource, by Paul Wellner. Want to climb Mt. Hood's South Side? It's a bit more technical than a scramble, but this book (yet again, by a local Portland author) will give you an idea how to prepare for it and what to expect. Chock-full of gorgeous aerial photos of Mt. Hood, detailed route descriptions, and climbing resource appendices, you'll get to know "the mountain" more intimately.
Trails of Crater Lake National Park and Oregon Caves National Monument, by William Sullivan. Not only has this guy hiked nearly every trail in the northwest, and written spot-on trail guides for each region of the state of Oregon, and written the book on Oregon Wilderness areas, but he has also got a book dedicated to two of southern Oregon's natural treasures. If you haven't been to Oregon Caves yet, you don't know what you're missing. Oh, and for once in this list, the author is not a self-published Portlander. William Sullivan lives in Eugene (unless he is out on the trail or living in the cabin he hand-built in the woods).
Hiking Oregon's History: The stories behind the historic places you can walk to see, by William Sullivan. How does this guy find the time to write so many books? And they are so useful, and accurate, and the details includes make for such satisfying reading. This time, self-published local Eugene writer William Sullivan takes you on 56 hikes to historic sites around the state. Follow the footsteps of natives, mountain men, settlers, prospectors, lighthouse keepers, loggers, soldiers, firefighters, and conservationists.
Wild in the City: Exploring the Intertwine, edited by Michael C. Houk and M.J. Cody. This book from the Audobon Society of Portland is an amazing resource for all things outdoors in Portland and Vancouver. The "Intertwine" is the region's network of parks, trails and natural areas. Whether you want to hike, paddle, or cycle, route descriptions are included to get you out into nature. And there is some great reading, with essays by local writers, including Ursula K. Le Guin and Robin Cody. And it is a field guide, too, with desciptions of native plants and animals. Finally, it is also a guide to the future, with ecologically friendly suggestions for living with urban wildlife and having a low-impact on our shared land and water. Simply an amazing book.
Exploring the Tualatin River Basin: A Nature and Recreation Guide, by Tualatin Riverkeepers. This book is much like Wild in the City, but has a much more focused scope - just the Tualatin River's green spaces and waterways. Learn what wildlife to see in which park, bits of local history, and where you can hike, cycle or paddle west of Portland in Washington County.
Common Wildflowers of Washington & Oregon, by J. Duane Sept. This Pacific Northwest author is from British Columbia, but he describes 120 different flowering plants that you will find in our area. The flowers are arranged by family, not by flower color, so it is a good resource if you are trying to learn the taxanomic relations between flowering plants. The photos make for easy identification, however, and it has a good index for cross-referencing latin names and common names. Plus it is sleek 90 pages, so it can go in your pack into the field.
Oregon Birds & Northwestern Seashore Life - Pocket Naturalist Guides. We now carry a selection of those awesome, laminated fold-out field guides. They are great for at-a-glance field identification. Waterproof, they fold up small so there is no heavy field guide to lug around. A great value!
CLOSE-OUT BOOKS:
And speaking of value, it wouldn't be Next Adventure without some discounted close-out options! These titles may be a few years out of date, but at their low prices, they can still be valuable tools for planning your trip or studying basic outdoor skills that haven't changed since the Stone Age. Here are a few of our new close-out books now in stock:
A Practical Manual of Camping, Hiking & Wilderness Techniques (2011), by Peter G. Drake. Planning and expedition anywhere in the world? Then this tome has got some useful information for you. The subtitle is, "How to live outside in complete comfort, enjoyment and safety." Sounds like a good plan!
Stepping Out: A Tenderfoot's Guide to the Principles, Practices, and Pleasures of Countryside Walking (2009), by Eleanor Garrell Berger. Like walking? If backpacking isn't your thing, but you would like to do some long-distance thru-hiking, then countryside walking may be just what you're looking for. Stepping Out is about rambling about to country inns and bed and breakfasts. It has useful trip planning tips whether you are heading to England, or a European pilgrimage route, like the Camino Santiago.
NEW TOPO MAPS:
We've got new waterproof & tear-resistant Green Trails maps for Mt. Hood, the Columbia Gorge, and Portland's Forest Park, plus we've expanded our selection of regular Green Trails maps for the Washington Cascades and Olympic Penninsula. New waterproof & tear-resistant maps from National Geographic for Mt. Hood and the Gorge are also in stock, plus an extended National Park selection, including Crater Lake, Mt. Rainier, Redwoods, Yosemite, Yellowstone and Glacier Parks.
And yes, we have a map from William Sullivan, too. And yes, it is amazing. It's the ultimate map for road-tripping in Oregon.
INFORM - OUTFIT - EXCITE:
Most of you know by now that Next Adventure is way more than just another outdoor store. Our outdoor information resources include books and maps; helpful, knowledgable, and experienced staff; free in-store classes, clinics, and presentations through our Outreach program; plus we'll even take you to the river or mountain for in-the-field skills instruction and guided tours through our Kayak School and Outdoor School. We want your outdoor experience to be informed, safe, comfortable and fun!
We have many more books, maps and trip-planning resources than what are mentioned here. Come on by the store and see what we have to offer!
