Matthew Wakelee

The Adventures of a Day Hiker: an Exploration of America's National Parks Matthew Wakelee

Publisher Marketing: Get out of the car and onto the trail! Many people never even leave their car when they travel to a National Park. Others go no farther than the scenic viewpoints. Learn how easy it is to escape the throngs of tourists and enter the wild and pristine landscape of America's National Parks. Part travelogue, part memoir, and part guidebook, The Adventures of a Day Hiker, takes you on an escape from the "real world" to the natural world where skyscrapers are towering sandstone cliffs and 200-foot tall sequoias. Through vivid description and detailed accounts you will join the author on countless day hikes within ten National Parks. He takes you to some of the most iconic sights within the National Park System. You will witness an Old Faithful eruption, climb Half Dome, watch the sunset on Delicate Arch, and hike into the Grand Canyon. In addition, Wakelee shares the intimate times from his travels; including watching the sunset beside hundreds of seagulls on the Pacific coast and admiring a starry night sky. With Wakelee as your guide, you will see grizzlies and moose from the trail and have up close encounters with mountain goats, rams, and bison. You will witness two Search and Rescue missions and one enormous forest fire. Wakelee will show you that you don't have to go backpacking for miles to get a taste of the wilderness; a simple day hike can showcase a land that is scenic beyond your imagination.