INTERESTING BOOKS:

Hiking Guides:

“Hiking Canada’s Great Divide Trail” by Dustin Lynx (New edition out, early 2007)

“Kananaskis Trail Guide” Vol 1 and 2  by Gillean Daffern

“The Canadian Rockies Trail Guide” by Brian Patton and Bart Robinson

“Ridgewalks” by Mike Potter (not pertaining to GDT, but interesting routes!)

History/Biography:

“A Hunter of Peace”  Mary TS Schaffer. 

   -I like original travel accounts, this is a lovely piece of work!

“Ken Jones, Mountain Man”  Lorne and Kim Tetarenko

   -Thank goodness someone sat down with Ken to document some of his stories!

“Tales From the Canadian Rockies”  Brian Patton

   -Snippets of historical accounts, a bit of poetry, a nice melange.

“The North West Passage By Land”  Viscount Milton, and W.B. Cheadle

   -Another original travel account, these two sound as if they would have been great fun to travel with…humorous!

“The Canadian Rockies Early Travels and Explorations”  Esther Fraser

   -Stories and history of early explorations.

Amazing Stories “David Thompson” Graeme Pole (OK, I have to find something more substantial on David Thompson, but this is a start!)

“Men for the Mountains”  and “Switchbacks”  Sid Marty. 

  -Tales of life as a Park Warden, mixed with some other very unique characters.  A fun read!

Field Guides and “How To”

“Handbook of the Canadian Rockies”  Ben Gadd. 

    -too big to take backpacking, but a good reference for car or home.  Covers just about everything from geology, flora and fauna, to how to hang your food in a tree.

“The Compact Guide to Wildflowers of the Rockies” C. Dana Bush

    -Small enough to take anywhere, easy identification features, and delightful tidbits of information you won’t find in other guides.

“Beyond Backpacking” Ray Jardine

    -a bit pedantic at times, but worth browsing thru for ideas to lighten your load.  Some valuable information, some impractical for my way of travel.

“Allen & Mike’s Really Cool Backpackin’ Book”  Allen O’Bannon and Mike Clelland.

  -I like to recommend this book to new backpackers, though almost everyone could pick something up from it!  Easy to read, excellent illustrations.