1 comments about Best Vermont Drives, Fourth Edition.

1. Good book, we've been on a lot of the roads. Nice to see it in print! Quick response on sending the product, thanks!

2 comments about Hiking Vermont, 2nd: 60 of Vermont's Greatest Hiking Adventures (State Hiking Series).

1. This is an excellent addition to the Falcon Guide hiking series, and the author adds a touch of humor and class to each route description. The driving directions to each trailhead are detailed and accurate. the route descriptions are similarly packed with information that any hiker can use. If there was a chance of seeing wildlife, Pletcher duly notes it and informs you when the best times are for seeing bears or moose. If you're backpacking, he tells you where to find water and where reliable springs are located.

   I was a little disappointed that he didn't concentrate more on the 260 mile Long Trail which traverses the length of Vermont. I was looking for information of their shelters and side routes into towns along the way. But for day hikers, this is a good, reliable and handy guide. Recommended.




2. In a rural state such as Vermont, although plenty of opportunities for hiking exist, finding them can be difficult since they are off the beaten path. This guide will help you find those hidden (and some not-so-hidden) hiking gems that are scattered throughout the Green Mountain state.
   
   This guide describes 61 hikes scattered fairly evenly across Vermont. Hikes range in length from 0.5 miles to 15 miles with the average at around 4-6 miles. Each hike comes with some basic facts about the trail, a rather detailed set of directions to the trailhead, a map, a detailed trail description, and usually a photo. The maps are typical Falcon maps: they show the trail, a couple of main features, and not much else. I have to say I don't understand why Falcon doesn't upgrade their maps to the USGS topo variety that are found in the 50-hikes series and most other top hiking guides these days. Still, I have lots of Falcon hiking guides on my shelf, so I guess my wallet speaks louder than this review.
   
   Perhaps the most outstanding quality of this guide is the author's wide and varied vocabulary. In fact, this guide has a literary quality not found in most hiking guides. Occassionally this gets in the way of clarity. For example, the author describes the trail to Camel's Hump as a "bony" trail. Does he mean rocky? narrow? These cases are the exception, and usually the author's vocabulary simply makes the reading experience more enjoyable.
   
   I have heard some other people complain about the lack of Long Trail information in this book. On this point I must respectfully disagree. True, if you are looking to hike the Long Trail from start to finish, you will need better information than what is provided here. Still, 16 of the hikes in this book describe dayhikes along the Long Trail, and this is a book on hiking, not backpacking. Most dayhikers will find plenty on the Long Trail here to keep them busy for a long time.
   
   In summary, this may not be the best guide to Vermont hiking on the market, but this book merits serious consideration. I withheld one star, mainly for the maps and slightly for the potentially vague descriptions. As I said though, this book has a literary quality not found in most hiking guides. So if you enjoy reading hiking guides or you are interested in Vermont hiking, this book should find its way onto your shelf.

1 comments about Best Hikes With Dogs: New Hampshire & Vermont (Best Hikes with Dogs).

1. I had been looking forward to this book's publication since a New Hampshire bookseller told me this summer it was coming soon. I live in Vermont 7 months of the year, and New Hampshire the remaining 5. I own a 4-year-old shepherd/black lab mix, Diamond, who loves to go hiking with me. So this book is perfect for us to plan new adventures.
   
   The author has selected hikes which are safe and suitable for dogs, as well as delightful hikes for their human companions. I was glad to see some of my favorite hikes are included in the book, and there are many others I look forward to doing with Diamond.
   
   The hikes are rated from one to four paws for difficulty, and dog regulations specific to each hike (proof of rabies, leash laws) are given. I am impressed with the detailed topographic maps, especially since the maps in my two "Best Hikes with Children" books, by the same publisher, are a bit disappointing.
   
   I was glad to see that the author details many safety-related and ethical issues pertaining to hiking with dogs. The ten essentials include gear one should carry for dogs (leash, water, portable bowl) as well as obedience training (to be done before the dog goes hiking). The ten canons of trail etiquette are guidelines to ensure that your dog won't offend other hikers, and that you won't lose the privilege of hiking with your dog on the trails.

No comments about Vermont, New Hampshire, & Maine (Best Hikes With Kids).

1 comments about Backroad Bicycling in Vermont, Fourth Edition (Backroad Bicycling).

1. My husband and I are avid road cyclists, and we found this book to be a perfect guide for our recent vacation in Vermont. Rides are in all geographic locations across the state. The author features great rides with extremely clear directions, as well as tourist-focused descriptions for each of the towns that he takes you through. The rides are incredibly scenic, and the information on places to tour and eat along the way were invaluable to us. The only very minor complaint I have is that the charm of a few of the listed attractions are sometimes a little too enthusiastically stated - although all information was factually accurate. Make sure that you're getting the latest (2006) edition!

5 comments about Wandering Home: A Long Walk Across America's Most Hopeful Landscape:Vermont's Champlain Valley and New York's Adirondacks (Crown Journeys).

1. This book is thin. I mean literally. It is really just a somewhat longish essay. I was disappointed that there was not more depth, more history, more "more."
   
   This is the story of McKibben's amble from Vermont to the central Adirondacks, with a crossing by row boat of Lake Champlain. McKibben is a good writer and he loves this landscape and is very concerned about it and its place in the global environment, but I could not help comparing him and this book to another Bill-namely Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods. Bryson is a much more energetic writer. In my opinion, he is funnier and deeper than McKibben. A Walk in the Woods is a great book, Wandering Home is light weight by comparison.
   
   McKibben has some very good thoughts on environmental issues and expresses an admirable moderation in this book. He is especially sensitive to the complexity of many environmental issues and actively criticizes the "knee-jerk" environmentalists for over-simplifying the issues in many cases. On the other hand, McKibben is something of a romantic airhead. Often his ruminations are fatuous and patronizing; for example, his dogma that those simple Vermont farmers and old Adirondack loggers that he's met are more "authentic" than you or I (McKibben makes this claim more than once in Wandering Home).
   
   Nevertheless, I liked this book and enjoyed reading it. McKibben loves the Adirondacks and so do I. In this short book he's managed to capture something of the flavor of the hidden Adirondacks, that fortunately so few people know. The Adirondack Park of New York is the most beautiful sylvan landscape in the world. McKibben's book raises, but barely starts to answer, such questions as why and how to protect and preserve the Adirondacks and other similarly blessed places.



2. Bill McKibben walks for sixteen days through the Adirondack Mountains to share his love of the land with his readers but what makes the book so special are the people Bill introduces, walks with, and talks with (and about...) along his journey. I was a Travel Agent for five years and was lucky enough to be sent to some of the best, first class places in America and this journey that Bill McKibben takes us on with his words is more meaningful than many of those places I went to which include the Grand Canyon & Scottsdale, AZ; the San Francisco Bay Area; Paradise Island & Nassau, Bahamas; Manhattan; the Sierra-Nevada Mountains (by train); and New Orleans & Mississippi River Cruise!
   
   Each authentic and real person that McKibben joins on his trek lends a hand in telling the story. The book is as much about the beauty of the people as it is of the land. I grew up twenty miles away from the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania, and presently I am a steward and guardian of 400 acres of land in central PA with my husband, his uncle, and my husband's brother and I share and appreciate Bill McKibben's deep love for the power of nature, the wild, and the people. I found John Davis (owns a bicycle, no car) as one of the most interesting characters in the book. I also like the stories of Chris Shaw, who has the good sense of memorializing the people who have passed on but that once lived in the Adirondacks and give the book historical authenticity. My favorite stories in the book are from Donald Armstrong and especially Armstrong's memory he shares with McKibben (and us) about Don's wife, Velda and a fly-fishing event. I laughed so hard I cried! It is a funny moment, but this husband-wife story is so cute and sweet, and gives one a feeling of nostalgia. (The church steeple is a cool part, too.) This is a gem of a story and Wandering Home is a gem of a book.
   
   I am a people person and for the first few chapters of Wandering Home I'm thinking that it is too bad Bill McKibben spends all this passion on the Adirondacks. I imagine what his passion could do to improve the lives of the infirm or impoverished people. Much to my chagrin, in the last few chapters McKibben admits this deficit with charm and honesty. He admits he should spend more time helping the less fortunate, and then justifies his love and preservation of the Adirondacks as his way of giving something back to people. And, I agree that he has. Furthermore, he explains that he tries not to be a drain on the planet. If only we could all think this way, maybe our global warming and environmental problems would vanish. For the first time in my life, I realize the full extent of the impact that people have had and still have on our surroundings and I am saddened and sickened by it. (I imagine a sunrise or a sunset over a mountain, or an ocean breeze I thank God there are still a few areas left in this world that man / woman hasn't been able to get his / her hands on.)
   
   I do have one eco-criticism of Wandering Home. Bill writes that he and John Davis climb to the top of Owl's Head on page 93 of his book. Owl's Head is a considerable distance away from Bristol, and is not included in the path outlined on the inside covers of his book. But, every author has to create mystery in some way, right? Judging by the description of Owl's Head I can see why McKibben would include it in his "walk" since Owl's Head sounds like a stunning place with it's 390 degree view of the Adirondack mountains. On my map, Owl's Head is about sixty miles north of Lake Placid one way, as the crow flies.
   
   Dr. Robert Bernard Hass (English Professor, poet, writer, and Robert Frost expert at Edinboro University) and I got into a discussion about hyper-individualism in class one day. Dr. Hass told me about his friend named Bill McKibben and how McKibben writes about hyper-individualism and that a good place to start on the subject would be Wandering Home. I am grateful that Hass recommended the book to me. It was a book that I was sad to see end, but a journey I will always remember in more ways than one. I was so inspired that I am planning on a short family vacation to the Adirondacks for this summer. I will do my best to demonstrate a sense of forest preservation and protection while I'm there, visiting the wild of the Adirondacks.



3. Bill McKibben describes a walk through place and community. The community is bound by a geographic region but the displaced reader is imperceptibly drawn into the mind-set of McKibben and his guests. You are introduced to a group who love the land on the Vermont/New York border and recognise it as one of the few "wild" places left in America. It is their passion to preserve and conserve that comes through and it is infectious. The book inspires the reader to analyse their relationship to place and modes of behaviour driven by place. The antithesis of economic consumption exists in all of us, however repressed. Bill brings it to the fore. The effect on the distant reader is such that you will join the community despite being so far way. Bravo Bill !!!!!!!!!!!!!!



4. I have spent much of my recreational time in the two places Bill McKibben writes about in this book -- The Adirondacks of New York and the Champlain Valley of Vermont. They both offer some of the most beautiful, pastoral scenery in the US. From Lake Champlain itself you can see the Green Mountains of Vermont on one side and the Adirondack Mountains of New York on the other. As Mr. KcKibben points out, while they may look similar and proximate from afar, each is quite different from the other. The Champlain Valley is more pastoral, bucolic and New England-like. The Adirondacks are much more rugged, wilderness-like and rough around the edges. Both can call to you in a way that becomes a lifetime's pursuit.
   
   This book is an easy and short read. It is engaging, paints wonderful pictures with words and gets you to think about the tension between a simpler life closer to the natural world and modern society and progress/development. He is fair in his assessment of the joys and the struggles associated with a simpler life closer to nature. I don't know who would enjoy this book more - the person who has enjoyed this simpler life or one who can only imagine it through books like this one. I highly recommend this book for people who love this part of the world or who have thought about getting closer to the land and living a simpler life.



5. Bill McKibben comes through again. This time it's "a walk in his woods," a three week hike connecting upstate Vermont with the Adirondacks.
   
   When you travel with Bill, it's a journey of body, a journey of mind and a journey of spirit, all rolled into one. You'll meet other folks along the way, people who have something to say to Bill and to you. You travel easy with Bill. This Bill is not as funny as Bill Bryson but he's more thoughtful. And he'll get you thinking.
   
   This book is a book about a place and about the history of that place. Having hiked in both areas, I especially enjoyed the subtle distinctions Bill is able to discern in landscape, flora and in the character of people between what he sees in the gentle hills of Vermont and the rougher landscape and terrain of the Adirondacks.
   
   Take this trip with Bill McKibben. You'll be glad you did.

4 comments about Dishing Up Vermont: 145 Authentic Recipes from the Green Mountain State.

1. "Dishing Up Vermont" is a welcome addition to anyone's kitchen and cookbook library. For the master chef, novice, and everyone in between who may be interested in great whole food recipes created, flavored, and colored by nature, "Dishing Up Vermont" is a long awaited culinary dream. The wide selection of products used in these recipes not only include natural, healthy, and heart smart ingredients and preparation methods, but also emphasize sustainable farming practices, conservation, and fair trade markets which strengthen communities and the health of the overall land and environment. "Dishing Up Vermont" takes the reader through an exciting and delicious journey through the state of Vermont to eat at some of the finest restaurants, inns, and lodges while meeting some of the most exceptional chefs in the world...all in the comfort of your own kitchen. "Dishing Up Vermont" is an excellent cookbook that is unique in its mission and one that my family and friends will enjoy and recommend to others for many years to come. Kudos to its author!



2. Dishing Up Vermont is a wonderful new cookbook that combines the best recipes and ingredients from the Green Mountain State. It introduces the reader to a wealth of ingredients and products that give the cook an insider's view of Vermont's best. This cookbook demonstrates the important bond between farmers, chefs and consumers, while stressing the importance of the sustainable farming movement as well as buying local. The book contains beautiful photographs of Vermont and its products which add an extra touch to this delightful collection of recipes. This is a must have cookbook for anyone's library, whether you be a Vermonter, or a visitor to the state. Hats off to the author for giving us a cookbook which we will have in our library for many years to come.



3. You don't have to live in Vermont to love this cookbook. We live in Pennsylvania, and can get many of the same ingredients from our local farmer's market. This cookbook is for anyone who enjoys good food and knows the value of sustainable farming. Knowing the importance of buying locally produced foods, I found this cookbook to be a practical addition to my pantry. The recipes are easy to follow, yet taste like they were prepared by a gourmet chef. I particularly enjoyed the recipes for Blueberry Stuffed French Toast and Apple Covered Cheesecake. If you've ever been to Vermont, reading this will make you want to go back. The author does a wonderful job highlighting many of the Inns and Farms that make Vermont unique.



4. Dishing Up Vermont: 145 Authentic Recipes from the Green Mountain State is a compilation that unquestionably lives up to its title. Food writer and Tracey Medeiros, whose recipes have formerly appeared in "Bon Appetit", "Cooking Light", "Eating Well", and "Hampton Roads", offers easy-to-follow instructions for preparing tasty delights such as "Vermont-Style Hush Puppies", "Grilled Marinated Venison Loin", "Grilled Maple-marinated Portobello Mushrooms", "Butternut Squash Ravioli with Apples and Pears", and much more. Full-color photography and an assortment of Vermont food and eatery anecdotes round out this wonderful culinary tour de force.

1 comments about American Map New England: Road Atlas: Connecticut - Massachusetts - Rhode Island - Maine - New Hampshire - Vermont (American Map).

1. This book was great for helping us get around the interstates and highways. It doesn't have much in the way of smaller town road maps making getting around in small New England towns a bit more cumbersome. But I do recommend the book for anyone planning a trip to multiple New England states.

3 comments about Vermont Covered Bridges Map & Guide.

1. On medium-weight, stain-resistant paper, this beautiful and durable map folds out to approximately 2 feet by 3 feet. On one side is a three-color map of Vermont placing all 107 of the state's covered bridges, interesting facts about bridges and their designers, separate indices for bridges and places, and labelled watercolors of 23 of the bridges. The reverse side shows a county map, line drawings of various types of bridge trusses and a list of all the state's covered bridges by town. Each entry gives the date the bridge was built, information about its design and construction, and directions to the bridge.

   This is a beautiful and informative map, and what a bargain!




2. Just returned from a week in Vermont and this map/guide saved me a lot of time and effort in tracking down the covered bridges I wanted to see in Northern Vermont.



3. I found this map of Vermont covered bridges only moderately helpful. The map has a symbol for covered bridges on it and directions to each bridge are located on the back of the map by region, along with a very brief history. I found having to flip the map over for directions very user unfriendly while trying to navigate.

No comments about Vermont Off the Beaten Path, 7th (Off the Beaten Path Series).