The Mountaineers Books: National Parks Decks

National Parks Decks: Yellowstone/Grand Teton and Yosemite

By Jenn K.

These products were provided by the manufacturer for the purpose of this review.

The Mountaineers Books - National Parks Decks

This summer I am planning trips to Yellowstone/Grand Teton and Yosemite National Parks. And I am going to use the National Parks Decks by The Mountaineers Books to help with my trip planning.

I will be reviewing two of the National Park Decks for my upcoming trips (Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks Deck and the Yosemite National Park Deck). Both card decks come with a total of 50 cards that measure 4.25 inches by 5.75 inches. Thirty-three of the cards have maps and trail descriptions for hiking, biking, and paddling (depending on the park). The cards are made of a medium weight card stock that appears to have a light coating to help protect them from wear.

Both decks have either photographs of the park, wildlife/flora/fauna photos, or a map on one side of the card. The other side of the card has park information, trip planning information, trip details, or continued wildlife/flora/fauna identification pictures.

On the first card of both decks, the publisher information is listed along with a legend to help me understand the map symbols. The second card identifies the trips highlighted in the card decks, with reference to the card number. The next card has information on the park; such as history, geology, and some interesting facts. For easier reading, I will outline the additional cards pertaining to the specific parks below.

YELLOWSTONE & GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARKS DECK: The Best Day Trails, Sights, and Wildlife

Author: Lisa Gollin-Evans
ISBN: 978-1-59485-351-7 First Edition: 2010
Price: $14.95

One percent of the sales of these card decks go to help support the funding of the parks.

Outline of the cards in this deck:

How to use this deck: This card lists information on the trip cards contained in the deck and a feature icon legend. The Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks Deck has thirty-three hike, bike, and paddle routes; that are organized by geographic region. Each trip card has information on the difficulty, distance, usage, elevation gain, season, best time of year to spot wildlife, directions, highlights, tips on backcountry campsite locations, additional activities, facts, and feature icons.
Wilderness Ethics: Information how to keep the parks healthy and the wildlife safe.
National Park Rules: Listing of the most important and most commonly violated regulations.
The Ten “Plus” Essentials: A list of trip essentials.
Bear Precautions and Encounters: Yes there are bears here! I have seen them.
Wildlife Locator: A listing of animals, their habitat, and likely locations.
Identification Cards: Wildlife, flora and fauna photos for identification.

Trips:

The thirty-three trips presented in the deck are arranged by region.

North Yellowstone
Central Yellowstone
South Yellowstone
North Grand Teton
South Grand Teton

Some trips that may interest me during my vacation to Grand Teton National Park are: Colter Bay Paddle, Leigh and Bearpaw Lakes Hike, and the Hidden Falls Hike.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK DECK: The Best Day Hikes, Sights, and Wildlife

Author: Marc Soares
ISBN: 978-1-59485-352-4 First Edition: 2010
Price: $14.95

One percent of the sales of these card decks go to help support the funding of the parks.

Outline of the cards in this deck:

How to use this deck: This card lists information on the trip cards contained in the deck and a feature icon legend. The Yosemite National Park Deck has thirty-three easy to moderate day hikes that are accessible from major highways. Some of the hikes are located near Yosemite National Park just outside the park boundary. The trip cards list the difficulty, round trip mileage, hiking time, elevation gain, season, a map, nearest campground, agency information, feature icons, directions, highlights, tips, and activities in the area.
Wilderness Ethics: Ethics information on hiking, fires, washing, sanitation, garbage, hiker courtesy, and pets.
Staying Safe: Information on having a safe trip.
What to Bring/Bears: Tips on what to bring on a trip and bear safety.
Yosemite’s Oaks: Information on the live and black oak trees.
Photography in Yosemite: Tips on photography.
Things to do in Yosemite Besides Hiking
Easy Lake Strolls: Information on easy lake hikes.
Identification Cards: Wildlife, flora and fauna photos for identification.

Trips:

The thirty-three trips presented in the deck are arranged by region.

Yosemite Valley and Southwest Yosemite
Northwest Yosemite and Surroundings
Eastern Yosemite and Surroundings

Two of the hikes that caught my eye when I first looked at this deck were the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias and the Merced Grove Hike.

Update 6/30/10

Summer is finally here and I have been busy planning my upcoming trips to Yosemite and Yellowstone/Grand Teton National Parks.

I am very familiar with Yellowstone/Grand Teton National Parks as I have visited these parks many times over the past several years. While reading the card deck I realized that I have so much more of this park to explore.

On the other hand I am not very familiar with Yosemite National Park. I have been there in the past, but I have not been a frequent visitor. The park cards offered tons of information for my trip planning to the area.

What I like about both of the park decks is that there is an overview of the park that includes some history and details that I never knew. Another nice feature is the color photographs of birds, animals, and plants so that I can easily identify them on the trail or when I get home. Some of the plants identified in the Yosemite Park Deck have already bloomed or are blooming now in Southern California. The photographs are very realistic and are a perfect size for identification of the species.

I like that the cards are divided into different park areas. There are some areas that I will not get to visit on my summer trips this year. I can easily pack those away for now and just focus on the area I will be visiting. Now that I have the cards organized by the area I am visiting it is time for me to start focusing on my trip.

First off I like to have directions to a location and a map. A single park card has both. On one side of the card is a map of the hike or paddle route and the other side has directions from major highways or nearby towns.

Each card has a description of the hike or route; that description is helping me determine if it is something of interest. The information in the right corner of the card I think is an excellent overview. Right off it lists the difficulty, mileage, hiking time, elevation gain, and the best season. By glancing at this information I know right away if this is a hike that everyone in my group would want to tackle. Having the nearest campground and phone numbers on the cards is also useful. It makes trip planning a snap.

I like the trail navigation descriptions and the route map. I think these will be most helpful if I take the card or a copy of it with me on the hike. I am reluctant right now to take a card with me in my pack as I do not want it to get bent and tattered. Maybe I will change my mind. But, I have already accidently torn one of the edges of a card. The cards are not flimsy, I just got it stuck in a crevice and pulled on it.

Well I am packing for my first big trip of summer. And I have quite a few park cards that are going with me. Be sure to check back at the conclusion of summer to see how my trips went.

Final Update 10/25/10

Yosemite National Park - Vernal Fall

The National Parks Decks were a big part of my summer travels this year. They came in handy while planning trips in and around Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton National Parks.

The cards are great to get a quick overview of the trail; such as mileage, attractions, difficulty, and elevation gain. The map on the reverse side of each card was helpful to note bridge crossings, attractions, and general location. The maps on the reverse side of the cards are pretty basic. There is not indication of mileage, elevation, or many major landmarks. I would not depend on the map provided if I were lost. If more detailed map information is needed the cards list references to mostly USGS maps. These maps are not included with the cards, but can be found on the Internet or at local outfitter for sale. However, the trails I hiked that are included in these decks were very well marked and well traveled. So, I was not worried about getting lost.

Grand Teton National Park String Lake View of Mt. Moran

Yellowstone National Park - Morning Glory Pool

The driving directions are right on, which is a plus since I frequently get lost in unfamiliar places. It would be helpful to have GPS coordinates (for the trailhead and the campgrounds) listed on the cards so I can just enter them into my car navigation system. It would be much easier for me to use my car navigation system than reading the directions off the cards while I am driving. I loved having the nearest campground listed. This saved me a huge amount of time in my trip planning.

The card descriptions are great! A detailed overview of the area is included with detailed trail information. It would be nice if a small picture of an attraction was included on each card. That would help me better decide what trails would be of most interest to me

during my visit to the parks. The cards also have information on when the best times are to visit the trails for more solitude, extra items to bring, and what type of hiker the trail is intended for. I think all this information is great for trip planning.

Yellowstone National Park - Castle Geyser

These cards were a great planning and trail tool for me to use this summer. They helped me have memories of a lifetime. I plan on using them for many years to come.