Enamored of Itsy Bitsy Spiderlings

DOWNCANYON: A Naturalist Explores the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon by Ann Haymond Zwinger (The University of Arizona Press, $35 clothbound, $16.95 paper).

Most people traveling the Grand Canyon look up at the stern canyon walls and distant mesas. Ann Zwinger looks down at sand wasps, spiders and shoreline algae. Her self-consciously poetic style can be off-putting (she’s prone to sentences such as: “Sunlight ravishes the horizon.”), but she’s amassed many interesting observations during the course of her river trips.

While she doesn’t neglect the canyon’s history--geologic or human--she saves the best stuff for critters. For example: “Wolf spiders flicker across the rocks, swift day hunters on the prowl. This time of year females carry white silken sacs of eggs on their backs so at times all that’s visible are white dots going every which way . . . . [The female] opens the cocoon for them since the spiderlings cannot do it themselves. Freed, they climb on her back, where they remain until their first molt, when they go sprinting off on their own. Such wonderful care givers--how can anyone not like spiders?”

It’s a different take on an over-written subject and could enrich the understanding and experience of travelers planning a down-canyon raft trip.

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STAYING HEALTHY: In Asia, Africa, and Latin America by Dirk G. Schroeder (Moon Publications Inc., $11.95, paper).

Heading to Zambia or Myanmar? Consider throwing this slim volume into your backpack. It might save your life, or a friend’s life. At the very least it could give you some peace of mind.

According to the preface, Dr. Schroeder spent a year in Indonesia as a Stanford University undergraduate. He later returned to Indonesia as a Fulbright scholar to research health and nutrition. For his doctorate at Johns Hopkins University he researched child nutrition in a Mayan village in Guatemala. He continues to study Third World health issues as a professor at Emory University.

So if Dirk Schroeder says dark-colored clothing attracts tsetse flies (and thus sleeping sickness), then I say dump that black T-shirt before traveling to Africa.

This is the fourth edition of “Staying Healthy.” It’s an excellent outline of the health problems that travelers--especially those roughing it--may encounter in developing countries. Some of the infirmities are esoteric, some as common as constipation. Using layman’s language, he breaks down diseases and problems into various aspects such as transmission, prevention, symptoms and treatment.

A lot of practical first aid is outlined. Simple diagrams show how to wrap a sprained ankle or to set a dislocated shoulder. The introductory remarks about immunizations, malaria medication and what medical supplies to pack are particularly useful.

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BICYCLING: Touring and Mountain Bike Basics by Peter Oliver. KAYAKING: Whitewater and Touring Basics by Steven M. Krauzer. HIKING AND BACKPACKING: A Complete Guide by Karen Berger (all by W.W. Norton & Co., $17.95, paper, photos and illustrations).

This is an excellent series for beginners to intermediates, with clearheaded discussions of equipment, techniques and safety. The kayaking guide, for example, outlines the signs of hypothermia and illustrates various rescue maneuvers. The hiking guide gets into the external versus internal pack-frame debate and shows how to bear-proof food. The biking guide discusses flat repairs and arcane mountain bike techniques such as “bump-thrusting.”

Attractive and well-designed, these guides are filled with solid information and tips. Here’s one for bikers: “If you find yourself fighting the wind on a long ride, make an effort to pull your elbows in.”

There’s good common-sense stuff throughout and the authors take care to emphasize the courtesies and rules of the sports. The guides have flexible plastic covers and good paper stock, making it practical to throw one into a pack or bike bag or stuff inside a hatch. They are companions to the public TV series, “Trailside: Make Your Own Adventure.”

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ALASKA’S OCEAN HIGHWAYS: A Travel Adventure Aboard Northern Ferries text by Sherry Simpson, photos by Mark Kelley (Epicenter Press, $19.95, paper).

At one point, on a ferry run aboard the Matanuska, a crewman announces a film showing in the viewing lounge. Writer Simpson overhears a passenger say, “Why on earth would anybody watch a movie when they can see this go by?” “This” is breaching whales, flocking eagles and calving glaciers.

Many travelers hold the eight blue-bottomed ferries (the locals call them “blue canoes”) that ply the southern arc of Alaskan waters in the same regard that train buffs do the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. It’s easy to see why--they glide past some of the world’s most spectacular scenery.

Kelley’s photos don’t strictly chronicle Simpson’s ferry journeys; they are more what a passenger might see if the sun always shone and the killer whales leaped on cue. But they pair nicely with Simpson’s simple, lively narrative. Together, they make the Alaska waterway experience come to life.

Quick trips

FAVORITE DOG HIKES IN AND AROUND LOS ANGELES by Wynne Benti (Spotted Dog Press, $9.95, paper). More than two dozen hikes in the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains and in the Simi and San Rafael hills. The hike ratings (easy, moderate and strenuous) apply to both dogs and humans. There’s advice in the introduction about hiking with canines, including water requirements and health tips.

HIDDEN COAST OF CALIFORNIA: The Adventurer’s Guide by Ray Riegert (Ulysses Press, $15.95, paper, maps). A new edition of this comprehensive guide. Pretty standard stuff--locals will see that there’s little “hidden” here--but it’s a good overview of middle-of-the-road sights, accommodations and restaurants. This is one of 14 “Hidden” guides to areas in the United States.

THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI: A Traveler’s Guide by Loori Erickson (The Globe Pequot Press, $14.95, paper, maps, black and white photos). The Great River Road is a network of routes on either side of the “Father of Waters.” This guide touches briefly on the towns, historic areas and museums (as well as some hotels and restaurants) along this network. It also includes information on numerous riverboat attractions and has chapters on the two biggest tributaries, the Missouri and the Ohio. Interesting historical anecdotes are scattered throughout.

COUNTRY ROADS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA by Arline Inge (Country Roads Press, $9.95, paper). Fifteen trips are outlined; most are around 75 miles one way (she neglects to include detailed directions on return trips). Each trip gets seven to eight pages of puffery. No surprises here; no maps, either. Destinations include the Santa Ynez Valley, Joshua Tree National Park, Arrowhead and some desert ghost towns.

THE VOLVO GUIDE TO HALLS OF FAME: The Traveler’s Handbook of North America’s Most Inspiring and Entertaining Attractions by Paul Dickson and Robert Skole (Living Planet Press, $12.95, paper). Despite the grandiose subtitle, this is about as straightforward as it gets. It starts with the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., and ends with the Gallery of Also Rans in Norton, Kan., honoring failed presidential candidates. Most of the halls are sports connected. Among the others are the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Hereford/Fort Worth, Texas; the Marbles Hall of Fame in Wildwood, N.J.; and one that should be in the hall of fame for names: the Hall of Flame in Phoenix, Ariz., honoring firefighters.

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Books to Go appears the second and fourth week of every month.