Best outdoors & nature reference books according to redditors

I'm mostly into trees and shrubs, and I'm based out of Texas. I have a few books, including:

Trees by Allen Coombes, useful for identifying some of the most widely-planted/popular trees and their varieties around the world.

Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of the Southwest by Robert Vines. A comprehensive resource for identifying native trees/shrubs/vines if you're in the area.

Manual of the Trees of North America by Charles Sprague Sargent, vols. 1 and 2. Slightly outdated in terms of pure taxonomy, but (again) extremely comprehensive, and includes nice identification keys and a glossary for the technical terms.

It helps to be crazypassionate enough about the subject that you'd actually crack open these books for pleasure browsing instead of just trying to find a species, but it's not required.

Google image search is your friend, especially if there is some characteristic about the plant that really stands out, you may just be able to search directly for it. If the OP has provided location information, a search like "oaks native to minnesota" (or whatever) can help narrow down a species.

Also it helps to walk through a few nurseries in your area, look at the labels, and figure out what is popular.

Some of it is just experience and really wanting to know what things are. You just get to know the trees/plants in your area, and if you see something out of place, figure out what it is and add it to your mental inventory, store its characteristics (foliage arrangement, fall color, leaf/bark variability, general shape/form, fruit, common diseases/issues, etc. etc.) Just do this for the stuff you care about. I've found that over time, as things become familiar, I have the mental space to care about things that would have escaped my attention before.

It's easier to distinguish some superficially similar trees (for instance, pecan vs. black walnut w/no fruit, or catalpa vs paulownia) after you've seen a few of them in person and know what to look for.

Sorry for the TL;DR, hope it helps!

Tim Ernst's Ozark Highlands Trail is considered to be the go to source for OHT. He has a load of other books covering the area, including the Ouachitas.

Ouachita Maps is another good source. Has short trail guides and maps for several loops.

I've done Boardstand Loop (Oklahoma) on the Ouachita trail and the White Rock Shores Lake loop on the OHT. Both are nice. You can't go wrong (unless you drown) doing the Eagle Rock Loop. Probably one of the most popular.

This is my favorite place to go. So beautiful and secluded.

The 2 best spots in the area are the hangover and Stratton bald. Do not plan on camping at naked ground as tempting as it may be.

Get Tim Homan's book on the area, and design your own loop that includes the hangover, Stratton bald, and the slick rock creek. There are so many intersecting trails that planning a hike there is as easy as can be. http://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Trails-Kilmer-Slickrock-Citico-Wildernesses/dp/156145415X

I always park at big fat gap, there is a campsite that continues straight into the woods where the road would go if it kept going, so if you wanted to head up there, on Friday and start hiking early Saturday you could do that.

A few things to remember about slickrock though.

It is a wilderness area, the trails aren't really maintained to the level you're used to in other areas, and the lesser used trails can get hard to follow, but pay attention and you'll be fine.

Also it is a common area for hunters, and is covered with them during hunting season, you usually won't see any that far from the trailhead though but you will see their dogs.

Most of the hunting dogs are beagle and Black and Tan mixes, but during hog season you'll see pit bulls. Either way don't bring a dog hiking with you to slickrock. The pit bulls will likely kill him and he might follow the deer dogs into the woods.

Be respectful of the dogs. They have a job to do, I know they're cute and friendly (especially the hounds) but avoid petting them because it throws them off their game. Sometimes they will start following you. If this happens just yell GO ON like it's one word and they will in fact go on.

Don't let any of this scare you off this awesome area.

Oh and if your car is fun to drive check out the Tail of the Dragon (us129 north of deals gap) and the chelohora skyway, two of the best driving roads in the entire country.

Good book, I have it in its two earlier versions (Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency/New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency).

I've found Food for Free by Richard Mabey useful, but again its UK-centric.

Planning on going to Joyce Kilmer/Citico for the first time in October.

If you don't already have it, you should get this guide book.

Since it will be my first time backpacking there, I look forward to any replies you might get from someone who has experience with the area too.

I am currently read The Bug Book and it is fairly interesting.

I have done some day hiking here but yet to have done any recent real backpacking. I bought a decent book that can answer questions like where to camp and what to expect on the trail: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/156145415X/ref=ox_ya_os_product_refresh_T1
There are other books similar to this one out there I am sure.

You can pretty much camp where ever you want in the Wilderness and there is water everywhere there. You could defiantly wing it as far as hitting the trail and finding a campsite along the way.

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

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^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

I can't recall reading about someone who actually saw Bigfoot making one of these. I have seen this book for sale. I think I need to buy it and find out what an expert has to say.

Here's a possible reference for you. Not an endorsement or a rejection, just saying it's out there. Take it for what it's worth.

https://www.amazon.ca/Wood-Knocks-Tossed-Rocks-Organization/dp/0991682505

Congratulations OP!! JMT is something I will never forget, and I plan on doing it again for the last time in 2016 (I'm 40). This year I'm going to Grand Tetons.

Tips:

Take your time, it's beautiful country. Enjoy every second. Absorb it all in.

Tom Harrison John Muir Trail maps are excellent.

A good book to read is Guide to the John Muir Trail by Thomas Winnett. Use this to plan your trip and highlight areas on the topo.

I cached at Florence Lake.

http://www.amazon.com/John-Muir-Trail-Map-Pack-Harrison/dp/1877689343


http://www.amazon.com/Guide-John-Trail-Thomas-Winnett/dp/0899972217

Guidebook Amazon Link, but as I was saying, I don't recommend this book if visiting. I recommend this one. The old one is not user friendly and is more for people who frequent the lake often. Not sure what you plan to do but just wanted to let you know.

Sure, i'll dig you up a Fox News link...

How about you do your own research? A quick google search should do the trick.

https://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Sasquatch-Structures-American/dp/1539592138