hiking and camping

I am a hiker, so I looked at the book from a hiking perspective and found it excellent. It is by far the best hiking book I've seen that specifically addresses the unique rigors of being in the heat for lengthy periods. Johnson has a nice little ranking system for each journey, from ranges from one star for easy treks and 4 stars for the strenuous ones. I do think his ranking system is just a trifle soft. Some of the hikes that get 4 stars aren't really that difficult, nor do they have exceptional elevation gains. But this is a minor criticism.

The bext part of the book is the descriptions of how brutal heat can wither the human body. Johnson gives helpful tips on how to protect your skin, face and eyes from the ravaging effects of the sun. I once hiked 24 miles Rim to Rim in one day in the Grand Canyon without sun glasses and can attest how vicious an experience that was on the eyes. He also stresses that you'll need a minimum of one gallon of water, per person, per hour when you're in 100+ degree temperatures. Many scoff and say, "That is too much water!" Believe me, it isn't.

All in all, a good book and one which every desert hiker or desert fan should own.

This is the only book you will ever need for desert survival in any desert around the globe. It covers introductions to the world's deserts, with emphasis on North American deserts. The book covers general skills pertaining to desert survival (Water, shelter, food, navigation etc.) and also has sections on desert hiking, biking and photography that were good for the novice and refresher for the expert. The chapter on desert transportation was excellent and a subject often over looked in similar titles. Over all I found the book to be quite good for the novice hiker to experienced desert dwellers like extreme adventures and military types.

I enjoyed this book because it was so complete. The author must have lived in the desert or must go camping each week! I found the information I needed on water purity that I hadn't found in any other survival book along with the latest directional tools.

I hope there is more to come from the author!