| The Magazine of the CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES |
|
|
|
Reviews Coastal
Clearing The California Coast: A Traveler's Companion, by Donald Neuwirth and John J. Osborn Jr. The Countryman Press, Woodstock, VT, 1998, 384 pp., $17.95 paper. Coastal California, by John Doerper, photography by Galen Rowell. Compass American Guides, Oakland, CA, 1998, 400 pp., $19.95 paper. Best Coast Hikes of Northern California: A Guide to the Top Trails from Big Sur to the Oregon Border, by Marc J. Soares. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA, 1998, 236 pp., $16.00 paper Hiking the California Coastal Trail, Volume One: Oregon to Monterey, by Bob Lorentzen and Richard Nichols. Bored Feet Publications, Mendocino, CA, 1998, 320 pp., $18.00 paper. In the summer of 1969 my mother bought a canvas tent, cleaned our Coleman stove, packed the trusty Impala. We spent some five weeks camping along California's coast down to Mazatlán, Mexico. Our habit was to check into a hotel every ten days or so to take hot showers and wash our clothes in the sink (my intrepid mother operated on a tight budget). One of our hotel days found us in Los Mochis, Mexico, slightly inland from the Sea of Cortez. I noticed a large photograph in the hotel's lobby of a forested coastline punctuated by a massive rock immediately offshore. Below the picture a handwritten sign read "Topolobampo, Mexico." Topolobampo, our next destination, was a small fishing village with a big name immediately west of Los Mochis. As I studied the photograph I laughed out loud. "Hey," I yelled, "that's Cannon Beach." The picture was of Cannon Beach, Oregon and Haystack Rock, some 2,000 coastal miles to the north. When we reached the village the next day we realized what a fine joke that photograph was; Topolobampo was beautiful–solid desert and tropical blue waters–but not the least bit reminiscent of coastal Oregon. I slowly came to understand that my car-camping mother gave me an invaluable gift: a firsthand lesson in coast geography. By the age of twelve I had seen almost every inch of the Pacific Coast, from southern Washington State to Mazatlán. I had recognized Cannon Beach–just as I would have recognized California's Crescent City, Cape Mendocino, Pfeiffer Beach, or Point Loma–because I had been there. That's why I find this selection of California coastal guides so fascinating. They are almost as diverse as, say, Cannon Beach and Topolobampo, and yet each one can help you explore the coast. Two of these guides cover the entire 1,100-plus-mile coast, and two focus on northern California's shoreline. Coastal California, by John Doerper, is by far the most extravagant of these guides. It includes 25 full-color maps, photographs by Galen Rowell, and beautifully reproduced landscape paintings and historic photographs. After an excellent opening section entitled "Landscape and History," the book takes the reader from San Francisco Bay north to the Oregon border. The second half ventures from the Golden Gate south. Doerper fills his guide with personal observations and stories as he leads the reader to his favorite coastal towns, parklands, campsites, and more. It soon becomes clear, however, that Doerper–who publishes Pacific Epicure and is an enologist–is most comfortable discussing regional cuisine. There is a healthy amount of space dedicated to the coast's restaurants and wineries (including the requisite forays to several inland wine regions), and a lengthy restaurant and lodging appendix. Although I found a couple of amusing cartographic mistakes (Steamer Lane as a road in Santa Cruz rather than a surfing spot, and a fictitious town of "Wiley" in Carmel Valley), and several questionable natural history details (male elephant seals feeding nightly after they arrive at Año Nuevo), Coastal California is impressive. In fact, if produced in a larger format, it would make a nice coffee table book, even though several of Rowell's photographs are too intense for this reviewer's liking (such as the monster California poppy on page 131). The California Coast, by Donald B. Neuwirth and John J. Osborn Jr., approaches the state's entire shoreline by dividing it into sections. First, the authors discuss southern versus northern California while throwing in a bit of geography and geology. Then, they tighten their focus and proceed from the Mexican borderlands northward. Chapters are organized by county, and by city within those counties. The authors also use icons to alert readers to sites which they feel represent one or more distinct "types" of coast: "Family," "Quiet," "Living," "Sporting," "Cultural," and "Urban"–all rather self-explanatory. Chapter and feature maps are found throughout, and each site description ends with specific directions. And yet, as clear as these maps are, readers will likely find the need to pick up a more detailed set of maps for the glove compartment or pack. Unlike the bounty of color found in Coastal California, the Neuwirth and Osborn effort is all black-and-white. Although not as flashy, The California Coast is filled with more precise coastal access information and includes its own take on the best places to sleep and eat. Neuwirth produced the first edition of the popular California Coastal Access Guide back in 1981, and that book's basic structure can be seen in The California Coast. And yet, Neuwirth has broadened his approach with this effort, probably due to his collaboration with Osborn and the cumulative knowledge of the intervening years. Best Coast Hikes of Northern California is refreshingly uncomplicated and straightforward. Marc J. Soares describes 75 of his favorite hikes between Big Sur and the Oregon border. Black-and-white with basic maps and the occasional photograph, this book is perfect for both advanced hikers and people wanting a special place for a day outing. Soares' clear trail descriptions and hiking suggestions–and his keen naturalist's eye–make for entertaining and easy-to-read text. Although I've already hiked a handful of the routes Soares describes, I would gladly revisit them with this book in hand. Hiking the California Coastal Trail, Volume One: Oregon to Monterey, by Bob Lorentzen and Richard Nichols, is an amazing book describing almost every step of the coastline from the Oregon border to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. In 1996 a handful of hikers–including co-author Nichols–traveled the entire coastline to educate people about the California Coastal Trail, a work in progress that is nearly complete. This volume was conceived on that 1996 hike (Lorentzen covered 300 miles that year), and Volume Two is due in the fall of 1999. Most of the existing Coastal Trail takes hikers on beaches, bluffs, and over headlands. But there are sections where hikers must walk on the shoulders of roads, including portions of Highway One. The authors included these segments to highlight the need for completion of the trail, and to prove to readers that if precautions are followed, road hiking can be safe. Throughout this impressive guide the authors include
36 nicely written feature articles covering such topics as natural history,
human history, geology, and coastal agriculture. With this guide's explicit
directions and simple yet instructive maps in their backpacks, explorers
will have no excuse for getting lost. Watching Weather: A Low Pressure Book about High Pressure Systems and Other Weather Phenomena by Tom Murphree and Mary K. Miller with the Exploratorium. Henry Holt and Company, Inc., New York, NY, 1998, 154 pp., $12.95 paper. Air heats near the surface of a warm land mass and rises. An area of low pressure is formed, but heavier colder air from an area of high pressure will travel to this less crowded air space. When air, saturated with water vapor, meets the cool surface of a blade of grass droplets of water, or dew, form. The authors, Tom Murphree, a professor of meteorology at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA and Mary K. Miller, a senior science writer at San Francisco's Exploratorium museum, astutely present weather as moving along physical gradients, with an appreciation for the connection between the many factors that contribute to a particular weather condition. They weave descriptions of local and regional weather conditions with global weather to give an overall sense of how the hot muggy summer weather in Virginia, for instance, is linked to warm Gulf Stream ocean currents and warm winds from far southern latitudes. The authors present technical concepts and terms using both simple definitions and examples. But weather can be complicated, so some scientific concepts will need contemplation. This is actually a pleasant aspect of the book. Questions are not easily answered by simply going to the section of greatest interest. Indeed, unless the reader has a comfortable understanding of the water cycle, cloud types, and how air behaves at varying pressure, this book is best if read from beginning to end. But, the authors don't assume that readers will have the vocabulary of a veteran meteorologist after a single read. Technical terms and concepts are conveniently cross-referenced throughout. There are also chapters on how to predict weather and on global climate change. Throughout the book informative sidebars provide expanded descriptions of certain terminology or phenomena, as well as practical facts, like why and how hurricanes are named, how to build a home weather station, or how to look at the sky.
Recommended Reading from the Editors' Desks
Trying to find a spot to catch blooming wildflowers or breeding grunion? Interested in a search for the elusive desert tortoise or stealthy urban coyote? Whether your interests are birds, bugs, flowers, whales, or even rats, this guide will help you fill your calendar with timely outings. Chapters on seasonal events, wildlife areas, and specific species offer readers a rich and detailed variety of natural history information. Species lists and current research into species' status are included, as well as a list of hotspots for observation. Complete with directions, contacts to site managers, conservation organizations, and tour guides, this resource will help get you up and out in a hurry.
"Almost the first thought passing in one's mind, as he enters a virgin forest of redwoods, is one of pity that such a wonderful creation of nature should be the subject of the greed of man." -C.G. Noyes, a lumberman, 1884. Twenty years later when reforestation was in full swing, ranchers complained that the trees were taking up valuable grazing space. Ever since Europeans introduced the concept of material progress to California, there has been a countermovement for environmental preservation: its first champions were Native Americans. Green Versus Gold explores the interactions between nature and people by juxtaposing historical documents with contemporary essays and recent commentary. An excellent historical resource, this book records critical periods and events with descriptions by influential players in the state's environmental history.
And you were squeamish about a worm in your tequila. Reading this book, and looking at the incredible photos, you would deduce that there is nothing with an exoskeleton people haven't tried–and enjoyed–and you'd probably be right. In the first few pages you'll see whipped cream and chocolate, topped with a frozen honeypot ant (Australia); then deep-fried tarantulas on a stick (Cambodia), roaches, worms, beetles, and cricket-flavored lollipops from Pismo Beach, California. There's hardly a photograph in the book that doesn't draw the reader to the caption in credulity and awe. By the time you've read the captions, you've read the book, which is a conversation between the two adventurous authors.
There is as much competition for a job as a wildlife ranger as for any in the country. It's not surprising that successful applicants should be smart, dedicated, and gutsy. But that doesn't always make them producers of pearl-filled prose. Maybe they have better things to do. T.A. Roberts is the exception, able to extract himself from daily concerns and view his world, its hierarchy, and his commitment with irony and humor. As the title suggests, Painting the Cows is such a book, with stories from both sides of the bureaucratic curtain. |
Winter 1999
|
