Crossing Arizona: A Solo Hike Through the Sky Islands and Deserts of the Arizona Trail

If you love backpacking buy this book, you will not regret it. A beautifully written and inspiring read that just leaves you itching to get away. Seriously, if you don't enjoy it I'll eat my hat!

The only shame with this book is that I had to special order it, which was well worth the wait! Only for me to see several copies of it on the Arizona bookshop shelves a few months later! It also cost me an extra £9.99 as I spotted Chris's other book Munros and Tops!I'd just mention that while the photos are indeed fantastic, they are artfully black and white, but colour would have been more appropriate. I hope that the publishers take note of the above comments!This book is a great read with plenty of feeling. Crossing Arizona sounds a very tough walk, not for the faint hearted, so I'd recommend reading the book first! Then if you're tough, or indeed brave enough try walking a section of the Arizona Trail. I'd give it a try but I'm a jessy and neither of the above! I just got a thrill out of reading the book.What I particularly enjoy with some of Chris's books, this a prime example, is his honesty and openness. We may not all agree with him but he uses his right to free speach well. Crossing Arizona would be less of a book if Chris's thoughts and feelings were ommited.I have been to Arizona a number of times and would love to make a return trip one day. OK, it will be in a car, shame on me, but Arizona has quite a hold on me! It certainly holds a special place in Chris's heart! His finishing paragraphs make this abundantly clear! I could "feel" Chris's sadness at leaving and I too didn't want the book to end. I had a lump in my throat when I closed the book for the last time. No other book has had such an impact on me as Crossing Arizona, particularly the end.Whatever book Chris writes next I hope it is going to be as good as Crossing Arizona.

Like most tourists, Chris Townsend loves modern conveniences that make his life easier but detests similar amenities when they clash with what he considers should be an untouched wilderness experience. He lives in Scotland, and thus came to Arizona with the typical British attitude of "Look at how you colonials managed to muck everything up since we left." He's full of complaints about Americans who don't appreciate the wilderness, ignoring the fact that even the worst of Americans aren't as bad as the "horrible families" of Britain who consider it sporting to steal cars for a lark and then burn them. These writers are boring, and Townsend's rants paint him as an insufferable toff. Sadly, he doesn't seem to appreciate the desert or forests in the same manner as writers such as Joseph Wood Krutch or even Zane Grey. He doesn't seem to appreciate that we live in a messy modern world, with only a few gems of wilderness left. For example: Townsend cites efforts in the 1960s to dam the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon itself, and the noble efforts to stop it. Excellent. He ignores the alternative that was built with the connivance of the people who stopped the dam -- one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the nation which spews its pollution over tens of thousands of square miles of the Southwest. He also thinks Lake Powell should be drained. Isn't it time the Forth Bridge was torn down to restore the scenic views? His arrogant rants are the equivalent of a Yankee tourist recommending Hadrian's Wall be torn down to restore the natural landscape. Of course, much of it HAS been torn down -- a look at any farmer's barns within a few miles of the wall shows how those Roman building stones were put to use. Anyone who's hiked off trail knows there's no "untouched" landscape left. And, if you're going to stick to the trail -- this book is about hiking The Arizona Trail -- then you're in man-made country. Like all too many wilderness advocates, Townsend fails to appreciate the natural world for what it is as it now exists. It's like building a replica of a wooden ship; no matter how authentic you make it, it isn't the original. In many cases, it's far better than the original. Likewise, the Arizona of today is not the Arizona of a century ago, nor five enturies ago. Britain is filled with almost 60 million people like Townsend; all whinges, moans and complaints but never the initiative to do anything. Anyone with energy and ambition emigrates, which is why Australia is such a dynamic place. Those who stay home find fault with everything, and particularly with anyone who had the energy to leave. In brief, the book is the first of its kind so it's the finest yet available. Anyone who plans to do any extensive hiking in Arizona needs to read it. It contains enough Arizona details to be valuable, enough hiking information to be useful, enough rants to please the beads and Birkenstocks crowd, but far from enough cactus hugging for a desert rat. But then, how many readers are likely to be desert rats? Buy it, it's more interesting than those which haven't been published. It's not the type of book to take on a desert hike, but it's a good read before such a walk. Someday, an even better book may be written about The Arizona Trail, but if you plan on waiting that long the trail may be paved by then.

800 miles from Mexico to Utah crossing various types of terrain-desert;forest;chapparal;Canyons;mountains;plateau's. Walking in heat/camping in Snow at times! This is a fascinating read which makes you want to put on the old boots & fly to Arizona immediately. He makes little of the problems which an inexperienced hiker would find insurmountable. He came close to running out of water on at least 2 occasions but there is no sign of panic.Even so it is clear the position could have been dangerous. His descriptions of the landscape & wildlife he encountered seemed, at least to me anyway, to bring Arizona into my living room. Once started, it was a book I could not put down. Highly recommended.

This is a journal, not a 'how to' book, and as that is quite enjoyable. Only caveat is he's from a cooler climate than Arizona so is struggling in heat where we Arizonians are just getting started. A great read and very inspirational. Not only for those thinking about long hiking trips.

I bought this book because I am (someday) going to do this hike. What a great adventure! Reading this book has made me put it a little higher on the "to do" list. Chris Townsend did a great job telling his story. It has not only been educational but a very enjoyable read that I highly recommend to any avid hiker.

I've almost finished reading to the end, and have been transported onto the trail in this book. I've found this book to be extremely relevant and interesting account of Chris's walk along the Arizona Trail. I've learned some valuable facts about the trail, and what to expect. I've been using a few of the National Geographic maps to follow along while I read, and to locate the geographic points he refers to in the writing.Water is a prime concern on this hike, especially in the southern regions. The one thing I haven't been able to find is reference to any dates that would reveal the time of year he began his hike. It would help place the time of year and the availability of water during this time of year. I see no reason to give anything but a top rating to this book, I just love it!

Well written with all the right detail. I'm too old to do the entire trail, but since reading this fun tale, I continue to do day hikes on more and more pieces of this great trail.

My husband is really enjoying this book