John Soares

John Soares is an outdoors book author and freelance writer who has lived nearly his entire life in Northern California. He began walking the hills near his Redding birthplace at the age of 5, later expanding his scope to day hike and backpack trails throughout the North State, including the Trinity Alps, the Mount Shasta area, Lassen Volcanic National Park, the Sierra Nevada, and the redwood coast.

He is the author of 100 Classic Hikes: Northern California, fourth edition (The Mountaineers Books, 2018) and Day Hiking: Mount Shasta, Lassen & Trinity Alps Regions(The Mountaineers Books, 2018), and he has written over 100 newspaper and magazine articles about outdoors travel. His extensive website NorthernCaliforniaHikingTrails.com contains detailed hike descriptions, photos, and maps, along with articles about safety and enjoyment in the outdoors.