Product Description

There are ancient treasures hidden across the American Southwest. Tucked away in remote canyons are hundreds of ruins, cultural treasures that provide a wealth of information about the past--and most people never visit them. Hiking Ruins Seldom Seen is your ticket to these enchanted, little-known sites. It will lead you on wonderful day hikes and overnight trips to some of the most spectacular areas of the Southwest. Hiking Ruins Seldom Seen is for amateur archaeologists and those who enjoy heading into the wilderness. It contains maps and detailed directions to remote sites, provides water availability information, and points out hazards on the way. A description of each archaeological site is provided, along with notes on the scenery and wildlife of the area. All of the ruins and rock-art sites in Hiking Ruins Seldom Seen are located off the beaten path and are relatively unknown to the public. Don't forget to take Hiking Ruins Seldom Seen on your next Southwest adventure.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #53871 in Books
• Size: Hiking Ruins Seldom Seen
• Brand: Globe
• Published on: 2000-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

From the Back Cover
There are ancient treasures hidden across the American Southwest. Tucked away in remote canyons are hundreds of ruins, cultural treasures that provide a wealth of information about the past--and most people never visit them. Hiking Ruins Seldom Seen is your ticket to these enchanted, little-known sites. It will lead you on wonderful day hikes and overnight trips to some of the most spectacular areas of the Southwest. Hiking Ruins Seldom Seen is for amateur archaeologists and those who enjoy heading into the wilderness. It contains maps and detailed directions to the remote sites, provides water availability information, and points out hazards on the way. A description of each archaeological site is provided, along with notes on the scenery and wildlife of the area. All of the ruins and rock-art sites in Hiking Ruins Seldom Seen are located off the beaten path and are relatively unknown to the public. Don't forget to take Hiking Ruins Seldom Seen on your next Southwest adventure.

Customer Reviews

"Seldom Seen" may be misleading
Okay, so beyond dinosaurs and crappy movies, I love the prehistoric southwest. When I got my hands on this book, I thought, "Awesome! Some places I've never even heard of are going to be revealed!" But I was in for something of a letdown. There are lots of out-of-the-way ruins discussed in the book, its true. But to say that they are "seldom seen" is something else again. The author mentions two hikes into Grand Gulch up in Utah - Grand Gulch is one of the most popular backcountry hiking areas in the Four Corners. He also talks about the backcountry ruins at Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico. You can find that same information on the NPS website, among others.
But, despite the fact that some of his "seldom seen" ruins aren't quite as isolated as he suggests, I can accept that. What irks me the most is the geographic disparity displayed by the author. The majority of the sites discussed are located in central or southern Arizona. There's only a handfull from Utah, a couple from New Mexico, and none from Colorado. I find that to be an unacceptable omission. There are hundreds of virtually unknown ruins in southwestern Colorado in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. Scores all across Cedar Mesa and the Great Sage Plain in Utah that remain unmentioned, despite inclusion in other books about the region and the fact they are in fact "seldom seen". And western New Mexico - don't even get me started. Dozens of rarely visted Chacoan Outliers could have been included. It just seems like the author hung out around Phoenix and didn't want to take the time to fully do his homework on the other states around him.
If you're in Phoenix and like ruins, buy it for sure. If you're somewhere else, go with caution - its not going to lead you to as many places as you might think.

stones and steps
I own about a dozen Falcon Guides. This is a welcome new addition to the series. The author gives trail descriptions for 36 hikes in Arizona, New Mexico, and southern Utah. Each hike leads to a ruin (Hohokam, Salado, Anasazi, etc.).

Although I've explored the Southwest on half a dozen long trips, most of these ruins were unknown to me. Most lie on National Forest or BLM land, not National Parks. Most are hitherto unknown to the general public, with some exceptions (for example, he includes the famous stone lions in Bandelier National Monument).

The trail descriptions are reasonably good, and include distance, USGS topo maps, and a difficulty rating. One innovation is the inclusion of GPS coordinates for the ruins themselves (but signficant waypoints might also have been nice). The author doesn't always provide altitude information.

There's a brief section discussing ruin etiquette, backcountry hazards, and photography tips.

I recommend this book for anyone who loves hiking, the Southwest, and prehistoric Native American ruins.

Hiking the Roads to Ruins
"Ruins Seldom Seen" is one of the most interesting and original hiking guides I've ever read. The pueblos, cliff dwellings and rock art sites described in the book are fascinating, and the interpretive information answers all of the basic questions hikers may have about them. Just as important, the book leads hikers into many obscure wilderness areas, making it a "must" for adventurous types who yearn to get off the popular trails -- sometimes off trails altogether -- and truly explore in the Southwest. Finally, contrary to what some people think, books like this help educate the public and increase appreciation of Native Americans ruins, resulting in less theft and vandalism at archaeological sites. Many critics also fail to realize that people who destroy Indian ruins tend to be ignorant, have no interest in learning about Native Americans, and sure as heck will not pay (price) for a book about archaeology. So I give "Ruins Seldom Seen" a big thumbs-up!