This is the best of the books, guides that I have yet read with respect to hiking the John Muir Trail. Concise directions, observations and ideas. Written by an experienced British backpacker, he brings a fresh viewpoint to hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains and understands the beauty of the area. Averaging about 11 miles a day, it is a reasonable way to accomplish the 233+ miles in about 3 weeks. I will be using it to plan my trip for 2011.