As I’m preparing for our Grand Canyon trip, I’ve been thinking about what books to bring on the trip. Obviously, space is limited and you can’t bring everything, but I also don’t want to be caught without the ability to answer a question if one comes up. I also really want to take the opportunity to learn as much as I can about the history of the canyon and its exploration. It will likely be a while before I can take a trip like this again, so I’d like to be fully immersed in it while I’m there. Here are five books I’m bringing and why—feel free to recommend others!
Grand Canyon Geology, edited by Sanley S. Beus and Michael Morales
This is an academic book about the geology of the canyon, describing the stratigraphy, geologic features, and formation and recent changes of the canyon. I grabbed this book because I use geology in my day job and know just enough to be dangerous in the general sense. However, I have very little specific knowledge about the features we will see, so I wanted to have a reference handy. However, having poked around in it a little, I wouldn’t recommend this particular book unless you’ve had academic training in geology: it’s not very accessible. I think Grand Canyon Geology by L. Greer Price is probably a better choice for most people.
I am the Grand Canyon: The Story of the Havasupai People, by Stephen Hirst
I wanted to bring a book that tells the human story of the canyon, which has never been free from human influence. The Havasupai people have been living in the region around the Grand Canyon for thousands of years. This book is about their cultural ties to the land as well as their fight to reclaim a portion of their traditional lands, which spanned the plateaus surrounding the canyon as well as its base.
The Grand Canyon Expedition, by John Wesley Powell
The classic account of the Powell expedition through the Grand Canyon. I’ve read portions of the Powell diaries before, but never the whole thing. I’m looking forward to reading the descriptions of rapids and features while traversing them.
Guide to the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon: Lees Ferry to South Cove, by Tom Martin and Duwain Whitis
You gotta have a map! The RiverMaps series of maps are go-tos because they are waterproof and easy to use, with campsites, side hikes and rapids marked and described. Each rower should have a map so they don’t miss camp or get surprised by a rapid.
The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon, by Kevin Fedarko
This is a book about the fastest-ever speed run through the Grand Canyon, which was accomplished by taking advantage of historic flooding in 1983. During that time, officials were also struggling to prevent the failure of Glen Canyon Dam, below Lake Powell. The book weaves these two threads together into a history that reads like an adventure story. I’ve read this book already but a few members of our group haven’t, and it’s a really neat story and a reminder of the amount of water and debris that would at one time have been moved routinely by the river.
Grand Canyon reading list
Of course, this isn’t a comprehensive list—we’re certainly going to have field guides to birds, plants, and animals as well as whatever books the other members of the party decide to bring. We’ll probably coordinate to avoid duplicating field guides, but if you’re an avid birder or botanist it might be nice to have your own guide and binoculars on your boat. I’ll be in an inflatable kayak with limited storage space for at least part of the trip, so I’ll probably mainly be pulling these out at camp to look up things I’ve seen during the day.