The High Sierra

A Love Story

By: Kim Stanley Robinson

Narrated by: Kim Stanley Robinson

A “sublime” and “radically original” exploration of the Sierra Nevadas, the best mountains on Earth for hiking and camping, from New York Times best-selling novelist Kim Stanley Robinson (Bill McKibben, Gary Snyder).

Kim Stanley Robinson first ventured into the Sierra Nevada mountains during the summer of 1973. He returned from that encounter a changed man, awed by a landscape that made him feel as if he were simultaneously strolling through an art museum and scrambling on a jungle gym like an energized child. He has returned to the mountains throughout his life—more than a hundred trips—and has gathered a vast store of knowledge about them. The High Sierra is his lavish celebration of this exceptional place and an exploration of what makes this span of mountains one of the most compelling places on Earth.

Over the course of a vivid and dramatic narrative, Robinson describes the geological forces that shaped the Sierras and the history of its exploration, going back to the indigenous peoples who made it home and whose traces can still be found today. He celebrates the people whose ideas and actions protected the High Sierra for future generations. He describes uniquely beautiful hikes and the trails to be avoided. Robinson’s own life-altering events, defining relationships, and unforgettable adventures form the narrative’s spine. And he illuminates the human communion with the wild and with the sublime, including the personal growth that only seems to come from time spent outdoors.

The High Sierra is a gorgeous, absorbing immersion in a place, born out of a desire to understand and share one of the greatest rapture-inducing experiences our planet offers. Packed with maps, gear advice, more than 100 breathtaking photos, and much more, it will inspire veteran hikers, casual walkers, and travel enthusiasts to prepare for a magnificent adventure.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Kim Stanley Robinson (P)2022 Little, Brown & Company

Critic reviews

“Kim Stanley Robinson shows us that the best hiking mountains on earth are the earth itself. Learning how to make anything into materials for our sleep, shelter, yoga, or crazy concentration, hunting, gathering, and laughing. Being both empty and full. Stan Robinson's radically original vision of nature itself makes the world wild.” (Gary Snyder, author of The Practice of the Wild)

"The High Sierra: A Love Story is exactly that, a passionate bow to one of the great mountain ranges in the world. The power of Kim Stanley Robinson's imagination is known to us as his faithful readers. But what emerges as a surprise in this memoir of place is how he comes to know what he knows from the ground upward. With over 100 trips etched on to the soles of his feet, we witness a man in love with the world, both human and wild. We are taken into the open heart of his storytelling, that carries his awe and wonder and knife-edged perceptions into a reimagining of geologic time through the physical ground truthing of his body. I loved this book—just as I loved The Ministry for the Future. They are companion volumes as to why we should care about this beautiful, broken world we call home.” (Terry Tempest Williams, author of Erosion: Essays of Undoing)

“This is a sublime book; maybe not since Muir's My First Summer in the Sierra has anyone managed to convey in words the sheer exhilaration that pours from this most charmed of American landscapes. Robinson provides a wonderfully readable biography of a place—but also a revealing autobiography of one of our most important and delightful writers.” (Bill McKibben, best-selling author of The End of Nature and Falter)

Spellbinding it the nature lover

Long but delightful! The sot of book one can pick up and put down innumerable times and not lose the gist. The descriptions were vivid and informative. Makes me want to head to the Sierras. Now.

Makes me want to go backpacking again

I loved the mix of personal story, geology, botany, and stories about Sierra people and history. I would love to sit down and share a beer with the author and listen to his many wonderful stories in person.

Just what I needed to listen to

KSR continues to be one of my favorite writers, and this thoughtful novel only strengthens my feelings toward his writing

Unique and beautiful California poetry

Stevenson captures the American independent spirit framed in the California wilderness. He shares his mountain adventure memoirs as an existential platform of peace and understanding.

FaBuLouS!

As usuaL KMS takes a potentially dry subject and turns it into a beautiFuL thoughtFuL journey. Moving deftly between all the realms of existence from existenTiaL to Prosaic with grace and warmth and adventure.
Love it!

Fantastic Sierra story

This is a great book to find out everything you ever wanted to know about the Sierras. The author has spent all of his adult life hiking these mountains and had learned the history, geology, and landscape. Very entertaining and informative. Loved every chapter.

Nature

Liked that his love of nature has influenced his sci fi writing. Beautiful depiction of the mountains in California

Must-read for fans of Robinson... or backpacking

This is a passionate and extensive look into one man's adventures in the High Sierra. It's all the more special because this man is one of my favorite authors. He talks about what backpacking is like, what the Sierra mountain range is like, etc. He also dedicates a good bit of the book to his backpacking mentor and late friend. As a fan of his books, I enjoyed reading about how various backpacking trips influenced his writing. Especially the Mars trilogy, and Shaman.

One chapter is just a bibliography. I didn't get much out of it. Another chapter is about naming mountains and other land formations. It includes his opinions about what should be renamed. That was also not interesting to me. In terms of backpacking gear, he's kind of an ultra-light chauvinist which I found strange. He also recommends against carrying adequate water which I find dangerous.

Read this book is you're a Robinson fan and want what's as close to an autobiography as we're likely to get. Also read if you're an aspirational, occasional, or expert backpacker.

A Great Adventure

I appreciate the details the author provided throughout the book. He covered the subject from every conceivable direction, with descriptive passages about the environment, the landscape, the geology, the ecology, the history, the multitude of personal sojourns, personal relationships, and personal inspiring revelations during his life long association with the High Sierras. I’ve never been a great outdoor adventurer, although 30 years of assessing properties for environmental issues gave me the opportunity to traipse through some great woodlands. As an environmentalist and a lover of animals, I was moved by his observations and heartfelt connection to the land and all its inhabitants. His chapter providing resource materials is generous. There is so much great information in this book, I’m going to have to listen again simply because I know I missed some of it! Thank you Kim Robinson for sharing a truly remarkable life in a truly remarkable setting.

Second half is better than the first

I'm a great lover of the Sierras, hence my interest in this book. Parts of it were reminiscent of my own experiences, but much of it was autobiographical in nature which did not interest me, nor did the history which I've read before in other sources. He philosophizes quite a bit, gets into esoteric realms and so there was maybe 1/3 of the book which I found rewarding and the other parts I skipped over. The second half is definitely better than the first part, more about the mountains and trails and his exploits. However, if you haven't been there and don't have maps, you'll find it hard to follow.