Skip to content
Menu

Primary Menu

  • Home
  • Ramblings
    • Musings
    • Books and Media
    • Videos
    • From The Web
    • Thru Hikes, Long Walks, or Routes
      • My Alphabet Soup summary
      • Vermont’s Long Trail
      • Appalachian Trail
      • Pacific Crest Trail
      • Colorado Trail
      • Continental Divide Trail
      • Ring The Peak Trail (Pike’s Peak)
      • Benton Mackaye Trail
      • Tahoe Rim Trail
      • Uinta Highline Trail
      • Collegiate Loop
      • A Walk Across Southern Utah
      • Great Divide Trail (Canada)
      • The Northern New Mexico Loop
      • Grand – Moab Route
      • SEUG Circuit
      • A Walk Across New England
    • Other Outdoor Jaunts
      • Utah
      • Colorado
      • New Mexico
      • Arizona
      • California
      • Florida
      • Georgia
      • Nebraska
      • New England
      • Nevada
      • North Carolina
      • Oregon
      • South Dakota
      • Texas
      • Wyoming
    • Photos
    • PMags News
    • Press
  • Nuts and Bolts
    • New to the outdoors? Start here!
    • Getting Started
    • Quick Tips
    • Trip Planning
    • Quick and Dirty Guides
    • Food
    • Gear
      • All Gear Posts
      • Gear Reviews
      • Gear Quivers
      • Gear Lists
      • Budget Gear
      • What I’m Wearing
      • Clothing and related
      • Footwear
      • Packs
      • Shelters and related
      • Sleeping bags, quilts, and pads
      • Stoves, cooking, and related
      • Tools
      • Water containers
    • Road trip and car camping – gear and techniques
    • Winter trip reports, gear overviews, tips, and techniques
  • Subscribe by email
  • Write Me
  • About PMags.com
    • Who is Paul Mags?
    • About Joan West
      • Joan’s articles
Header Toggle
Facebook Twitter Feed Pinterest YouTube Instagram Reddit
PMags.com
Facebook Twitter Feed Pinterest YouTube Instagram Reddit
Home » Archive for  Books and Media (Page 2)

Category: Books and Media

Reviews and discussions of books, movies, magazines, and other outdoor related media.

Some thoughts: Brave New West by Jim Stiles

Posted onNovember 22, 2019November 4, 2021AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

Some of my thoughts on “Brave New West” by Jim Stiles. If you are interested in the future trajectory of “The West”, I suggest giving this a book a read. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and MediaTagsbooks, utah-tip, Wilderness Ethics

Giveaway: Wanderlust USA by Cam Honan

Posted onNovember 20, 2019November 22, 2019AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

I’ll be giving away two copies of the latest book by Cam Honan: Wanderlust USA by Gestalten. Tell me your best outdoor volunteering story for 2019. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and Media, PMags NewsTagsbooks, Cam Honan

GPS Essentials app

Posted onSeptember 25, 2019December 18, 2019AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

Another free app that I find very useful. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and MediaTagsapp, electronics, GPS, navigation

Website of the Week – TrailGroove Magazine Premium

Posted onSeptember 24, 2019March 8, 2021AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

I’ve looked at TrailGroove Magazine before. Here are some benefits of getting a premium subscription. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and Media, MusingsTagsWebsite of the week

Quick Tip: Read the National Park Service Jr Ranger books

Posted onSeptember 20, 2019November 20, 2019AuthorPaul Mags5 Comments

The NPS Junior Ranger books are an excellent way to learn the biology, geology, and history of a national park unit quickly, accurately, and in a fun manner. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and Media, Quick TipsTagsbooks, Junior Ranger, national park, quick tip

How to Survive Your First Trip in the Wild: Backpacking for Beginners

Posted onJuly 19, 2019April 29, 2020AuthorPaul Mags6 Comments

My book focused on beginner backpackers will be available on Sept 3rd. And pre-order copies are available for a discount. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and Media, Getting Started, PMags NewsTagsbeginners, books

A revisit: The PCT Hiker’s Handbook

Posted onJune 23, 2019April 26, 2025AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

I wrote an article looking over Ray Jardine’s classic PCT Hiker’s Handbook (1996 edition) almost twenty-five years after the initial publication. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and MediaTagsbooks, Ray Jardine

Seek by iNaturalist

Posted onJune 13, 2019December 18, 2019AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

The “Seek” app is essentially Shazam for the natural world. Free, powerful, simple to use, and immensely useful – an app well worth getting. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and MediaTagsapp, electronics, guidebook

An outdoor library: Colorado Plateau collection

Posted onApril 28, 2019January 2, 2021AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

Some suggested books for the outdoors person that make a good read for someone interested in the history, culture, or politics of The Colorado Plateau. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and Media, Getting StartedTagsbooks, Colorado Plateau, library, outdoors, utah-tip

Book overview: 4WD Adventures Utah

Posted onDecember 21, 2018January 13, 2021AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

An older but still useful book that works well as an adjunct to trip planning using Utah’s often rough roads for outdoor pursuits. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and Media, Trip PlanningTagsbooks, utah, utah-tip

On The Trail with Boots McFarland : Volume 1

Posted onNovember 29, 2018November 29, 2018AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

A collection of comics for the thru-hiker tribe that captures the experience of hiking in the dust with sweat, Snicker bar wrappers, bugs, and rain rather well! Read More …

CategoriesBooks and MediaTagsbooks, Boots McFarland

Review: “Battle Over Bears Ears” documentary

Posted onNovember 21, 2018October 19, 2021AuthorPaul Mags3 Comments

A PBS documentary that looks over the debate of Bears Ears from a locals viewpoint. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and MediaTagsBears Ears National Monument, documentaries, PBS, review, utah-tip

The Hidden Tracks by Cam Honan

Posted onNovember 14, 2018AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

A collection of lesser-known treks with stunning photography and useful, detailed, and inspiring descriptions. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and MediaTagsbooks, Cam Honan

Review: Desert Cabal by Amy Irvine

Posted onOctober 30, 2018January 3, 2021AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

An overlook at a book that is lauded as a response to Desert Solitaire on the 50th anniversary of its publication. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and MediaTagsbooks, Ed Abbey, utah-tip, Wildness

Review: The High Sierra Trail – A Documentary

Posted onJune 16, 2018AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

A review of The High Sierra Trail documentary by Outmersive Films. The HST is a 72-mile path in the Sierra that may be shorter than the more well-known John Muir Trail (JMT), it certainly rivals the JMT in the scenery and variety of terrain. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and MediaTagsdocumentaries, High Sierra, Outmersive Fillms, review

Review: Finders Keepers by Craig Childs

Posted onDecember 28, 2017May 19, 2022AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

A timely look at a book about archeological preservation…or plundering. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and MediaTagsAncestral Pueblo, Ancient Sonorans, books, history

WASU : Bonus music edition

Posted onNovember 19, 2017May 13, 2021AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

One last post for my Utah walk. Songs stuck in my head while being out by myself. Call it a bonus post. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and Media, Long Walks, MusingsTagsmusic, utah, wasu

Review: Where the Water Goes

Posted onSeptember 5, 2017January 19, 2021AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

Where The Water Goes: Life and Death Along the Colorado River by David Owen is a book that is a bit of Cadillac Desert crossed with Ian Frazier’s Great Plains. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and MediaTagsbooks, climate, history, water rights

Post navigation

← Older posts
Newer posts →

Virtual tip jar

A Quick Guide to Moab

The Squak – A readily available, $60, active-focused grid fleece hoodie from a Utah-based company. Read the review.

Women’s | Men’s | Children’s   

The Squak Camp Dress 

One of Joan’s favorites!

The Squak Alpha Fleece 

                                                                    

– 15% off coupon = PMAGS-SQUAK                                                                                                      

  • REI: Shop Deal of the Day at REI Garage!
  • REI: Outlet 50% off deals
  • REI: Official Coupons and Rebates page
  • REI: Used Gear Store

PMags Instagram

@ramblinghemlock and I changed our plans because our usual March haunts were already pushing 90°F. We headed higher to places we usually visit in May. The blooming paintbrush, greening plants, and the lack of snow on the 11,000+ foot peaks in the distance made me wonder what the coming fire season might bring.
@ramblinghemlock and I have had to do some adulting lately. A career transition and a 1956-era house will do that. It sometimes means skipping overnight trips.
We did some volunteer work for an organization we are active with on Saturday and Sunday, and made it into a local camping trip in between the assignments.
Some local hiking this weekend. I scouted a route for a possible packrafting trip later this month, and on Sunday, @ramblinghemlock and I meandered through a canyon we’ve been curious about for a while.
I can’t imagine this landscape with a wall.
Two years inside the Park Service, trying to balance trade and calling. I left in fall 2025, and I’m still making sense of it - part grief, part gratitude, and part closure.

PMags Popular Posts

  • Popular
  • Comments
  • Latest
  • Today Week Month All
  • The Colorado Trail “End to End” Guide The Colorado Trail “End to End" Guide
  • Backpacking Loops – Mags Favorites Backpacking Loops – Mags Favorites
  • The Frugal Backpacker – The $300 Gear Challenge The Frugal Backpacker - The $300 Gear Challenge
  • PCT trail marker A Quick and Dirty Guide to The Pacific Crest Trail
  • A Quick and Dirty CDT Guide A Quick and Dirty CDT Guide
  • Stove Comparison – Real World Use Stove Comparison – Real World Use
  • Talus vs. Scree – What is the difference? Talus vs. Scree - What is the difference?
  • Ground Cloths : A quick overview Ground Cloths : A quick overview
  • Build a gear sled the dirt bagger way Build a gear sled the dirt bagger way
  • From GIS Sleepings Pads - A grounded view
  • Western Snap shirts vs. Sun Hoodies- Hot and Dry Weather Western Snap shirts vs. Sun Hoodies- Hot and Dry Weather
  • Higher up, a little early Higher up, a little early
  • More local hiking – Moab in March More local hiking – Moab in March
  • Some volunteering and camping Some volunteering and camping
  • The Vanderbilt's "summer cottage" - The Breakers Mansion. From American Esscence. The Gilded Age, a Catholic Nun, and Public Lands
  • Local jaunts in 3D Local jaunts in 3D
  • One Year Review – OYGSieg Sun Hoodie One Year Review – OYGSieg Sun Hoodie
  • A bit of winter in Moab A bit of winter in Moab
  • Thoughts on two years with the National Park Service Thoughts on two years with the National Park Service
  • Magic 8 Ball for Public Lands Management Magic 8 Ball for Public Lands Management
  • Today Week Month All
  • Sorry. No data yet.
Ajax spinner

Archives

Recent Comments

  • Monty on Some volunteering and camping
  • K C on More local hiking – Moab in March
  • DownRiver on Walking Man – The Secret Life of Colin Fletcher
  • john maxwell on The Gilded Age, a Catholic Nun, and Public Lands
  • Paul Mags on The Gilded Age, a Catholic Nun, and Public Lands

Disclosure: This website may be compensated for linking to other sites or for sales of products to which I link. These sites include Amazon, REI, Moose Jaw, Gaia GPS, Six Moon Designs, Squak Mountain Co, and ULA Equipment. There is no additional fee for purchasing items through these links.

 

© 2026 - PMags.com - All Rights Reserved -Privacy Policy
Scroll Up
  • Home
  • Ramblings
    • Musings
    • Books and Media
    • Videos
    • From The Web
    • Thru Hikes, Long Walks, or Routes
      • My Alphabet Soup summary
      • Vermont’s Long Trail
      • Appalachian Trail
      • Pacific Crest Trail
      • Colorado Trail
      • Continental Divide Trail
      • Ring The Peak Trail (Pike’s Peak)
      • Benton Mackaye Trail
      • Tahoe Rim Trail
      • Uinta Highline Trail
      • Collegiate Loop
      • A Walk Across Southern Utah
      • Great Divide Trail (Canada)
      • The Northern New Mexico Loop
      • Grand – Moab Route
      • SEUG Circuit
      • A Walk Across New England
    • Other Outdoor Jaunts
      • Utah
      • Colorado
      • New Mexico
      • Arizona
      • California
      • Florida
      • Georgia
      • Nebraska
      • New England
      • Nevada
      • North Carolina
      • Oregon
      • South Dakota
      • Texas
      • Wyoming
    • Photos
    • PMags News
    • Press
  • Nuts and Bolts
    • New to the outdoors? Start here!
    • Getting Started
    • Quick Tips
    • Trip Planning
    • Quick and Dirty Guides
    • Food
    • Gear
      • All Gear Posts
      • Gear Reviews
      • Gear Quivers
      • Gear Lists
      • Budget Gear
      • What I’m Wearing
      • Clothing and related
      • Footwear
      • Packs
      • Shelters and related
      • Sleeping bags, quilts, and pads
      • Stoves, cooking, and related
      • Tools
      • Water containers
    • Road trip and car camping – gear and techniques
    • Winter trip reports, gear overviews, tips, and techniques
  • Subscribe by email
  • Write Me
  • About PMags.com
    • Who is Paul Mags?
    • About Joan West
      • Joan’s articles

Subscribe to PMags.com

  • Receive an email notification of new posts direct to your inbox once a week.
  • Old school text email digest
  • It is easy!

ClickHereButton

×