Salt to Summit

Imagine a solo cross-country hike in “the land of little rain” from burning desert floor at Badwater at -282 feet below sea level in Death Valley, the lowest point in the continental United States to chilly, windswept Mount Whitney, the highest point at 14,505 feet above sea level at the crest of the Sierra Nevada. I’ve seen but not hiked much of the country between the two points, and I cannot imagine trekking it all in one hike. Arnold’s book did it vicariously for me and will also for any reader looking for an out-of-the-ordinary hiking adventure.

In this slim book, the author recounts an off-trail walk/hike/climb from Badwater in Death Valley, the lowest point in North America, to the summit of Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the lower 48 states. A keen observer of nature, people, and history, Arnold’s accounts of places that I have been ring so true that I’ve added a number of new never-been-but-must-visit places and trust his harrowing accounts of places that I’ll never get to. He gets the geology right and recounts his adventures without condescending to his audience or shaming those who prefer to reach these places via trails… show more.