HIGHPOINT ADVENTURES: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE 50 STATE HIGHPOINTS, by Charlie and Diane Winger, The Colorado Mountain Club Press, 304 pages, $15.95.
"Peak-bagging" — hiking or climbing a mountain summit because of its prominence — is a popular activity these days.
This book outlines the best way to reach the high point in each of the 50 states. However, unlike its predecessors, this book by a husband-wife team has a friendly and fun appeal that even caters to families. Sure, the authors stress that there are risks involved in climbing many of these 50 high points. Yet in addition to the directions and maps, they also include humorous photographs and "Did you know?" trivia elements.
Even if you only plan to someday hike to Utah's highest point, Kings Peak, this book will outline the easiest way to do that, as well as give hikers' perspective on how that summit stacks up with other state peaks.
The book devotes five pages and five photos to Kings Peak alone. It also stresses not to miss the all-important turnoff on the way to Kings — the footbridge detour before Elkhorn Crossing. Unfortunately, the authors hiked the mountain after a snowstorm one September. A sunny August hike would have been much more pleasurable.
An amusing chart — one that many readers might overlook — is found on Page 292. "FYI: Highpoints Circa 1896" lists elevations we now know to be inaccurate based on the technology of the day.
For example, 106 years ago Mount Emmons, in the Uinta Mountains, was believed to be Utah's tallest peak at 13,694 feet above sea level. In reality, Emmons is the state's fourth-highest summit at 13,440 feet.
Similar mistakes were made in Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada.
It's evident early on in the book that Charlie Winger has hiked all 50 summits. Diane Winger has hiked 48 and hopes to do Mount Rainier in Washington this summer.
The book singles out the 21 high points that are wheelchair accessible and ranks all 50 high points by difficulty, to show which ones are family friendly. There are also separate sections on necessary equipment, outdoor safety, the "leave no trace" concept and additional sources for hiking information.
There's even space in the book for logging your climbs to all 50 summits. Nearby points of interest are also listed, so the book doubles as a travel guide as well.
Overall, this book is well-written and worth the purchase price, even if you only hope to do one or two of these hikes.
E-mail: lynn@desnews.com