Mountainous West, Denali to Pico de Orizaba includes the author's personal experiences within many of North America's highest mountains. They include Alaska's Denali; Rocky Mountain's Mount Revelstoke, The Whistlers, and the Grand Tetons; Cascade's magnificent Mount Rainier, Lassen, and Shasta; Death Valley's Panamint Mountains; Sky Islands include the Chiricahua, Santa Rita, and Chisos mountains; and also, Mexico's Pico de Orizaba, Volcan Fuego, and the Sierra Madre Chiapas.

A number of wildlife encounters are included as well: Lynx at Denali; Bison at Yellowstone; Osprey and Moose at Grand Teton; White-tailed Ptarmigan at Rocky Mountain; Mexican Jay in the Santa Ritas, Montezuma Quail in the Davis Mountains, and Peregrine Falcon in Mexico's Maderas del Carmen.