3 comments about A Waterfall Lover's Guide to the Pacific Northwest: Where to Find Hundreds of Spectacular Waterfalls in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

1. This is an amazing book on locating the beautiful waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest. I own 2 of these books, 2nd and 3rd edition, and let me tell you, it has never let me down.

   The book gives great detail and levels of the waterfalls quality, difficultly of the hike and much more. It even teaches you on how to determine the type of waterfall that you are viewing.

   Mr. Plumb is the ultimate Mountaineer, and shows it through this amazing book. I call it my, "Waterfall Bible".

   I highly recommend it for all your searches for waterfalls, and even some that you didn't know existed -- great for picinics, extremists, photographers, and for those just in awe of their beauty!

   Don't pass this up, and at such a great price!




2. Great book, we had never been in these areas and were able to find everything very easily.



3. Used this book exclusively on my recent "waterfall tour" of Oregon and Washington. I wanted to make the most of day hikes to areas that had waterfalls. This book allowed me to plan my day-to-day itineraries and cram the most into the trip. Invaluable for a true waterfall lover. Waterfalls listed by geographical areas. Descriptions of some trailheads hard to follow, but maps were good. Decribes the difficulty to reach each fall (easy to need to be a bushwacking expert).

   My only disappointment is the newly built bridge near Elowah Falls that ruins the natural beauty of the falls... (not the author's fault).

5 comments about 100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon (Second Edition).

1. This book is a superb guide to a wide variety of hikes in Northwest Oregon. The first edition was my bible for hikes in this area---it's tattered and torn from all the use! This edition is better than ever--with accurate updates. Every hiker in Oregon should own it!



2. I bought this book prior to a trip to Oregon in hopes of finding some beautiful hikes. This book was a valuable tool in my search. Every hike was accurately described from details on finding the trailhead to distances traveled including the level of difficulty and points of interest along the way.



3. I bought this book two years ago to add to the many guide books in my library. After two years of hiking many weekends in northwestern OR and southwestern WA, it's become clear that this is the book that get's used the most. Most of the trails are suitable for the whole family. We've hiked into the crater of Mount St. Helens, eaten wild huckle berries in Indian Heaven Wilderness, hiked every slope of Mt. Hood, visited water falls in the Columbia river Gorge that we didn't know existed and more.

   Many of the trails are suitable for the occasional dry weekend in the winter months as well. Sullivan provides many low elevation trails which extend the hiking season year round.

   If you live in southwestern Washington or northwestern Oregon, you should own this book.




4. Over the last several years, I've hiked most of the trails described in "100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon." Sullivan's diving directions, trail descriptions and maps have always been perfect and immensely helpful.

   The trail descriptions are both concise and crystal clear. Sullivan does not meticulously describe each detail, which leaves much to discover on your own and allows for a more personal hiking experience. He writes eloquently, and often includes great tidbits of scientific and historical information that add context to your hike. For example, he might briefly describe how a specific area was geologically formed, and point out some evidence that you'll find along trail.

   Sullivan's practical advice is invaluable. If he tells you that a trail passes poison oak, you better wear long pants! If he tells you that a trail is open from July to October, don't show up without snowshoes in March! Clearly, he knows these trails well. Readers should not overlook the preface, where he provides an equipment checklist, low impact camping guidelines, contacts for trail conditions, and other useful information.

   The one downside of this guide is that so many people use it. If a hike is within an hour of Portland, and is featured in this book, you can count on a crowded trailhead on a nice weekend. Plenty of the featured hikes are off the beaten path, and still consistently provide solitude. Just plan on driving for awhile.

   Anybody who hikes in Oregon should consult "100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon," or one of Sullivan's other books. I also frequently use his Oregon Coast and Central Oregon guides, and they too are first rate.

   Just a quick additional note: When you do hike, always leave no trace! If you see trash, pick it up! Always be respectful of our Earth, and all of its creatures.




5. I moved to Oregon 6 years ago without any backpacking experience. Sullivan's were a perfect resource for me as a backpacker in need. This series has all the info you need and nothing you don't. I have particularly enjoyed photos(included with every single hike), 3d maps, well written directions and even background geologic/plant/wildlife info. Very useful and one of the best purchases I've made.
   
   A word of advice: heed EVERYTHING he says. If it says its bug filled in May, or a small car shouldn't drive a certain road, BELIEVE IT! As someone who's taken 30+ backpacking trips based on Sullivan's books, I can tell you that you will not be disappointed by these recommendations. It's like a good friend who gave you his personal recommendations.

1 comments about Waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest: 200+ Waterfalls throughout Oregon & Washington.

1. David Anderson is the third author to tackle a guidebook on waterfalls in the Pacific Northwest, and he does it in worthy fashion, but for the particular subject and area covered, this offering lacks the punch it needed to raise the bar. In addition to dozens of clerical and typographical errors, the process by which Anderson selected the waterfalls to include in the book seems odd.
   
   Omitted are many well known, easily accessed locations - such as Washington's Deception Falls along Highway 2, Spray Falls in Mount Rainier National Park and many of the easily accessed in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge and southern Willamette National Forests.
   
   I will give the author props for covering some new territory here - the Wallowa and Strawberry Mountains of north-central Oregon, where the other guidebooks are somewhat lacking, as well as one or two entries here and there which provide new information, but the book lacks a lot of in depth information that had made the other waterfall guidebooks put out by Countryman Press so well done, and I honestly expected more tutelage on how to properly photograph some of the locations when the book was authored by a professional photographer. I was quite disappointed in the lack of pictures as well (about 40 over 185 or so pages).
   
   All in all, its worth picking this book up if you enjoy visiting these locations, even sporadically - some of the directions are much more helpful than other books, and the maps are superb - but the selection and depth of the information presented is rather disappointing.

No comments about Fly Fishing Central & Southeastern Oregon, 3rd (No Nonsense Fly Fishing Guides).

No comments about The Field Guide to Lighthouses of the Pacific Coast: California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii (Field Guide).

3 comments about Portland Cheap Eats: 200 Terrific Bargain Eateries (Best Places Budget Guides).

1. My husband and I like to eat out at least three times a week, so this book has been very helpful in finding places that won't break the bank. We stay primarily in SE, but it includes restaurants all over town. Highly recommended.



2. My husband and I keep this book in our car so that whenever we're in Portland we can grab it quickly. In addition to the alphabetical listing and descriptions of 200 reasonably priced restaurants, the book has an excellent index. You can look up restaurants by section of town or by the type / style of food you want. Cheap Eats has given us the opportunity to sample many different restaurants that we would never have found without it. Instead of picking the same places over and over, you can expand your choices...and eat well inexpensively.



3. This was likely a very good book when published, but unfortunately, it is a bit out of date. For example, there are 15 reviews in the B's (alphabetically), but 5 of the restaurants have closed. Having said that, the book is well done and still useful when trying to find a good place to eat-just call ahead. There are 2 indices that I found helpful: listing of restaurants by neighborhood and listing by food type. The index lacks page numbers, but the restaurants are organized by name, so just remember your ABC's. My book appears to be the 5th printing of the first edition, purchased mid-late 2004. Portland prides itself on great food and local ingredients. If visiting, don't miss trying one of the local restaurants. A good, free guide is the weekly Willamette Week newspaper.

1 comments about Fun with the Family Oregon, 4th (Fun with the Family Series).

1. A great book for anyone with kids in Oregon. It will keep us busy for years. It has details about local city parks to large well-known attractions like Crater Lake. Plus there are extra tips on lodging and kid-friendly restaurants. We found a park with an old train engine in our own city I didn't even know was there.

4 comments about Ghost Towns of the Pacific Northwest: Your Guide to Ghost Towns, Mining Camps, and Historic Forts of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.

1. We have been photographing Ghost Towns for about 30 years now and we must say that this is probably the best book that we have ever seen... and we have seen them all!



2. This book covered many of the most popular ghost towns in the Northwest corner of the US and Canada. A myriad of good photos and just enough information to entice you to get in the car and go. I would have liked to have a little more information regarding those obscure ghost towns that are not easily accessed or identified.



3. I bought this book as a gift. Since my parent are from that area I thought they'd enjoy it. However after I read the book I found a pretty major mistake. In chapter 3 the writer refers to the Pacific County seat as being "North Bend" when its actually South Bend. One can only hope the writer didn't make any more mistakes.



4. I have had an interest in western ghost towns since the late 1960s and have sought out and photographed many ghost towns over the years. To that end, I have about 30 or 40 ghost town books and I would have to say that this is not one of the best. In my opinion, it is one of the worst. In fact, it's not as good as other books by Philip Varney in the same series. However, as a professional photographer myself, I can say that the photographs by John and Susan Drew are quite good. One problem with this book is that it lacks the depth of most other ghost town books. The information given just skims the surface. It's generally just raw facts such as when the town was founded, etc. Good ghost town books should go into the colorful stories that all these towns have. That's what's so fascinating about ghost towns. Another problem with the book is that it shows too many towns that are not really ghost towns at all but may only have a couple old historic buildings or they may be simply tourist towns. Many of the pictures are not of towns at all but rather dilapidated barns, etc., which can be seen anywhere in the country and are certainly not ghost towns. There is a classification system for ghost towns and not all ghost towns are classic "true" ghost towns, of course, but this book has very few ghost towns that will be of interest to a real ghost town enthusiast. In addition, the text doesn't always clearly specify the status of the towns so a reader may travel far to see a ghost town only to find that it's bustling town with a couple historic buildings, a museum, or it may be just a tourist town. I would like to know the true condition of these towns but Varney is very vague about that. Most of my ghost town hunting has been in the Southwest, California, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and Montana so it is possible that there simply aren't that many good ghost towns in the Pacific Northwest but other books that I have would suggest otherwise. Unlike some other books in this series, the maps do not use symbols that represent that actual state of the towns. For example, a crossed shovel and pick symbol often represents a "true" ghost town. But this book does not follow that useful and helpful practice, which is odd. It almost appears as if Varney simply got lazy in this effort and didn't bother to seek more remote ghost towns or gather more information about he towns he does cover. Good ghost town books should be enjoyable even to the armchair traveler who will never actually go to these towns. To accomplish that, the unique and interesting stories of the towns should be sought out and shared by the author. Florin's books, although dated, are wonderful examples of how ghost town books should be. Fortunately, if and when I do seek out ghost towns in the Pacific Northwest, I have other books that cover that region much better than this one.
   
   One other point: A very interesting and fascinating feature often included in the best ghost town books are "then and now" pictures that juxtapose images of the past and the present of the towns. For example, it's very interesting to see period photographs of, say, the town's main street along side a recent photograph of the same scene. There are a couple old pictures in this book but recent photographs of the same scenes are not included.
   
   All-in-all, I can't really recommend this book to ghost town enthusiasts but I suppose it's a moderately interesting addition to a ghost town book collection. But if you are seeking true ghost towns and interesting information about them, you can find better books to meet those needs.

5 comments about Two Wheels North: Bicycling the West Coast in 1909.

1. This book is an amazingly well-written story of the adventures of two young men bicycling from Santa Rosa, California to the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle in 1909. You are drawn into the narrative until, before you know it, you find yourself riding along with them on their trip, tasting the dust, feeling their occasional pain, and even enjoying a piece of pie with them... and then you realize that, like an Ansel Adams photograph, you have been drawn into an illusion of a reality long past. And, smiling, you dive back into the book and continue pedaling.



2. I first bought the book because of its Vashon Island connection, being a lifelong islander myself. But I quickly decided it's one of the best bicycle touring stories in my library -- the boys come alive in the writing, no dreary list of statistics and mileposts, just two boys becoming men on their ride north to Seattle. Puts a whole new perspective on that ride for anyone who has cycled the Pacific Coast route in modern times.



3. If you enjoy reading about cycling and living this is a great book. I've read every touring and cycling book you can imagine, but this is the best! It really gives you a new perspective on how we ride today when you look at what these two boys had to endure at the turn of the century when roads did not exists as we know today. A truly well written adventure, great venacular dialogue, credible and yet an incredible story.



4. I bought this book thinking it would be an interesting adventure tale. It is that but so much more. The writing is poetic and heart warming. An absolutely wonderful little book!!



5. For anybody going on bike tours this is a humbling book to read, and hard to put down. You can't help but root for two 18 year old boys who don't know enough not to make the trip. It also has special meaning for anyone who has ever driven all or parts of I-5 from San Francisco to Seattle. In 1909 it was possible to stay on the best road between California and Washington, and still get lost. Finally you get a feel for what life was like when my grandfather was alive. The postcards the two boys sent to their parents show buildings still standing today, but life was so much different. A good read.

No comments about The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life.