No comments about Day Hike! Olympic Peninsula (Day Hike!).

5 comments about The C&O Canal Companion.

1. My family lived in Washington for ten years. We often hiked on the C & O Canal. I studied for a masters in American history while we were there. The C & O Canal Companion would have added enormously to all of those experiences.

   Reading this book's vignettes provides intimate connections to our nation's past. For example, The Companion reports that after the Revolutionary War, George Washington founded the Patowmack Company, an early attempt at making the Potomac River navigable because of his interest in his "western properties" across the Appalachian mountains. This guide gives a glimpse of the first President that we do not always see while pointing out visible remnants of those efforts.

   In a notation about Chain Bridge, a beloved route to many of today's Washington suburbs, the guide shows the Civil War up close and personal. A Confederate sentinel was posted on the south side of the bridge, a Union soldier, mere yards away, on the north side. Furthermore, that same entry gives a brief sketch of Private William Scott who fell asleep there on his post. Court-marshaled by McClellan, pardoned by President Lincoln, William Scott went on to fight and die in battle for the Union cause. The Companion furnishes helpful information about parking, hiking, bed and board opportunities which are difficult to find elsewhere. It gives addresses and telephone numbers for reservations or further information.

   Having looked at the Companion for specific data on one short stretch of the Canal, I have been lured into reading further, more like following a story than studying a guide. It made me want to return to Washington with children, hiking boots and The Companion in hand.




2. I was thrilled to find and read this book, the most complete one about the Canal I've found. As a frequent runner on and veteran of several cycling trips along the entire length of the Canal--as well as a resident of Georgetown--I have long had an interest in and love for the Canal.

   The author, Mike High, uses many interesting and entertaining vignettes to tell the story of the Canal. He divides the book into four parts: "Historical Sketch", "Structures along the Canal", "Visiting the Canal", and "Canal Guide".

   The first two sections put the Canal into a fascinating historical and engineering context, including George Washington's role in the development of the Canal, and the Canal's involvement in the Civil War. The last section is a concise, mile-by-mile guidebook.

   In addition to history, High also presents useful information, including accommodations located nearby the Canal and suggested activities on/near the Canal.

   For $... a "best buy".




3. This summer, I started biking the C&O Trail starting at Cumberland. I wanted a book that would tell some of the history of the trail as well as providing good landmarks for Civil War crossings, etc... This book fit the bill. I looked for several books on Amazon, and I'm happy that I choose this one.
   
   The book is seperated into two parts, a general overview and history, and then a mile-by-mile breakdown of what to expect on the trail. I first read the history section and every night now before I head on the trail, I pull out the book and see what area I will cover the next day. The book has been great for planning with parking spots, etc...
   
   One suggestion that I can think of is to offer a book that starts in Cumberland instead of Georgetown because reading the book backwards is somewhat awkward (I realize that most people start from the Georgetown end, though). Additionally, it would be great to have GPS coordinates posted of the landmarks in addition to the mileage marker. I would love to be able to load the coordinates in my GPS so I know exactly where these landmarks are while biking.



4. I purchased this book to help prepare for a trip my brother and I plan to take next summer. I have only scanned it, but it looks like it will have all the information we need to make our preparations easier and our ride more enjoyable.
   It looks like a very thorough description of the trail, the sights to see along the way, and the amenities available on the trip.



5. I organized and led our high school youth group (23 people) for a week long ride on the trail. This book was invaluable in pulling it off. It has all the info for logistical planning, as well as providing excellent historical context (which the high schoolers loved.)
   
   While we were on the trail, I was tracking our progress via the book at every water stop. Even if you have minimal map reading skills, the maps in the book will allow you to determine your location with great accuracy (again, which the high schoolers loved.)
   
   Finally, the book is organized wonderfully and is an easy and interesting read. It combines information with background and context.
   
   In sum, if you are going to ride the C&O Canal trail, don't leave home without this book in your possession. It is as important as water and a first aid kit.

1 comments about Pacific Northwest Camping Destinations: RV and Car Camping Destinations in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia (Camping Destinations series).

1. I have traveled extensively throughout the Pacific Northwest and much of the U.S. This year travel will be limited to the Pacific Northwest. As a "native" Washingtonian and lifelong camper I've been looking for a new guidebook that combines travel info with the latest on campgrounds. There are new parks and new travel ideas - enough to generate enthusiasm and travel plans! Each listing has large icon keys that make it easy to find suitable camping spots, ie 50 amps, big rigs, activities and more. The book covers Washington, Oregon and British Columbia with everything from weekend to multi-week trip planning possibilities. Thank you to the authors for a great guidebook.

1 comments about Hiking Mount Rainier National Park, 2nd (Regional Hiking Series).

1. This is the second edition of a guidebook that I previously called "the best guidebook for hiking (as opposed to climbing) Mount Rainier National Park". That's still true.
   
   The book covers pretty much every official trail in the park, from quarter-mile long interpretive loops to the 90 mile round-the-mountain Wonderland Trail. The book is organized geographically, and includes a table of lists which show trails organized by features (such as easy trails that go to waterfalls, etc.).
   
   Surprisingly it does not contain an alphabetical index, which makes it hard to look up trails or places if you only know their names and not their locations. (For instance, the cover shows a wonderful view of Myrtle Falls, but I was unable to find out from the book how to actually get there! I had to be able to recognize that the view of the mountain was from the Paradise area, and then the falls were shown on one of the Paradise area trail maps.)
   
   It has been some time since I last read the first edition of this guide, but I remember it being quite personal, with descriptions of what the authors saw when they were actually there. There is nothing like that in this edition -- there is no sense that authors actually travelled to Mount Rainier. The writing style seems very professional but unfortunately also very dry.
   
   I spend most of my time in Mount Rainier going off the trails and up to the many peaks that are in the park -- and this book is useless for that purpose. It doesn't even tell you about such easy unofficial trails as Knapsack Pass or Third Burroughs Mountain. To get information like that I recommend Beckey's Guide, Smoot's Climbing Washington's Mountains, and Goldman's 75 Scrambles. (Or my own Seattle Scrambles website.)
   
   But it is an excellent resource for what it does cover: official, maintained hiking trails in Mount Rainier National Park. Each trail is described with a qualitative overview, a detailed description of the hike, a list of points of interest, a map, and a table of vital statistics like the estimated hours it will take to hike the trail and the official source of information on current trail conditions.
   
   (The maps show some topographical detail and some trail detail, but they are not really replacements for serious topo maps. They do show UTM coordinates, but they don't say which datum they are using. The maps probably do suffice for summertime, good weather use -- when you are unlikely to lose the trail as long as you stay on it.)
   
   The book also has some chapters in the back covering things like "leave no trace" ethics, dealing with cougars and bears, how to hike in springtime snow, and subjects like that. Nothing in any great detail, but it could be useful information.
   
   For the person who wants to explore the official hiking trails of Mount Rainier, from the popular to the obscure, this is the book I would recommend.

No comments about Day Hiking, South Cascades: Mt. St. Helens / Mt. Adams / Columbia Gorge (Done in a Day).

5 comments about Olympic Mountains Trail Guide: National Park & National Forest 3rd Edition.

1. We used the book to research our hikes before we arrived in the area. It helped us plan our route, time and stopover points. It gave a number of clues to things we didn't want to see as well. Couple of things you should know when using the book though. Trail descriptions don't always start at a trailhead so you might have a longer trip to get there than you think. Significant information is contained in the introduction to each of the sections and without it you will be confused by some of the trail information. But the biggest clue is this...don't try to use this book without a detailed map of the area. You will have lots of trouble finding trailheads if you use only the book. For example, Hike 133 tells you to take a specific FS road. However, there are two major forks that are not marked and without a map you'll have the opportunity to spend 3 hours driving each option like we did, on some "interesting" logging roads. You can get the maps at local stores like the Merchantile in Lake Quinault. We are very happy that this book directed us to the South Fork Hoh Trail (Hike 162) which was outstanding. The trails from the visitor center are a disappointment after that great trail.



2. First, please note that I have purchased this book but have not yet truly used it (i.e., I haven't yet actually gone to the Olympics). My purpose in purchasing it was to try to get a sense for the hiking options in the area compared to other national park destinations.
   
   I bought two Olympic hiking guides in addition to this one: "Day Hike! Olympic Peninsula" by S. Blair and "Hiking Olympic National Park" By E. Molvar.
   
   Compared to those two books, this one certainly includes a larger number of hikes. To my mind, however, it misses two critical pieces of information. First, no guidance is provided as to the likely degree of difficulty, either in terms of elevation gain/loss or in terms of the author's opinion (e.g., moderate, strenuous, etc.). This makes it much harder to choose hikes that are likely to be within our comfort zone-- especially on days when the knees are feeling sore!
   
   Second, I find the author's descriptions of the hikes to be very clinical and not that helpful in terms of helping me prioritize where to go. I want to know which hikes have outstanding mountain views, or delicious woodsy spots versus long slogs through forested areas with little to appreciate. There is no ranking or rating scheme for this, and it's a bit much to ask a reader to slog through detailed (and often somewhat clinical) descriptions of the 177 hikes mentioned to try to get a sense of that.
   
   I think this book could be useful as a reference-- if one already has a pretty good idea of where to go. But it's not the best in terms of prioritizing how to spend your time. To that end, the "Day Hike!" book by Blair is better, although it includes only about 70 hikes.



3. If you like Falcon type guide books, you probably won't care for this book. Trail descriptions don't offer elevation gain, they don't tell you what the trail has to offer (great views, low traffic, bears, et cetera), descriptions are not well organized, and the book does not offer descriptions of how you might link say several trails together to provide a loop - in other guide books you might hike the Seven Lakes Basin Loop, while in this book you have to find each individual trail description and connect them for yourself. Really, this offers little more than what you can find from just using your topo - of course a topo offers more info than you find here. For me, it defeats the purpose of guide book - which I use to guide me toward the trail I want to take QUICKLY - what's the elevation gain, what does this trail offer, what time of year is best, trail tips, et cetera. This book somehow manages to avoid all of this and still be very dense with information and convey the information in a very disorganized fashion. In addition, when hiking the Seven Lakes Loop, my topo AND the park map both listed trail names differently than how this book listed them - possibly an error in the book and possibly just outdated information.
   
   Get this book only after you have spent some time in the Olympics, gotten a good feel for things, and want a resource to complement your own personal exploration of this glorious region. This is not a book you get as an intro to the Olympics and MUST be used with a topo.



4. This is the best and most informative trail guide to the Olympic Mountains. Bob Wood has hiked most of these trails himself and he has written book on the history of Olympic National Park. This book contains information you will not find anywhere else. Sadly Bob Wood has passed away and this book is getting a bit dated.



5. As a day hiker going to the Olympics for the first time I found the book rather useless and much inferior to a day hiking book a friend brought (Day Hiking, Olympic Penisula). It is of little help in choosing which trail to do, it has poor to non-existent maps and does not give elevation change data. It is exhaustive on the mountain trails (including abandoned trails), but it does not include beach hikes, only mountain trails.

3 comments about Duel in the Wilderness.

1. A very well written book!! If you love history or even if you don't, read this book! It tells about young George Washington and his first assignment for this country which was still under Englands watchful eye. It tells of the amazing hardship and luck that George experienced at the age of 21,in the Ohio wilderness. This would make a great film!!! Lots of action and true life experience. Just READ this and you will be hooked on history forever.



2. My boys (ages 10, 9, 7, 5) and I found this book to be dull. We love history, but this one was lacking. It also had several instances of profanity which was surprising to me for a book that I thought was aimed at kids.



3. The book is readable, fast-moving, interesting, and tells a part of George Washington's life not normally told. It is historically pertinent because it relates the French-Indian wars to the American Revolution. It is interesting history while being also social commentary.

No comments about Olympic: A Visitor's Companion (National Park Visitor's Companion Series , No 5).

1 comments about A Kid's Guide to Washington, D.C.: Revised and Updated Edition (A Kid's Guide to...).

1. My aunt from Florida was bringing her 8-year old granddaughter to DC for sightseeing. I sent her Miriam Chernick's book as a gift before they arrived so they could plan out their trip ahead of time. She absolutely loved it saying it was extremely helpful. She said she read much of it to her granddaughter prior to their visit and she said that the history was very easily understandable for this second grader. My aunt also found useful the highlights of what to see at each sight so that they weren't overwhelmed when they got to each attraction. They had so much fun doing the "Did You Know..." trivia part of each section that it added a dimension to her granddaughter's interest and understanding of the monuments and museums. Finally, my aunt said the book was so well organized that it made it a pleasure to use and made her trip to DC that much more relaxed and enjoyable! I plan to stock up on these books to give as gifts for folks who come to town so that I don't have to work so hard at playing tour guide because all the work is done for me by this terrific book!

3 comments about Waterfall Lover's Guide Pacific Northwest: Pacific Northwest : Where To Find Hundreds Of Spectacular Waterfalls In Washington, Oregon, And Idaho.

1. This is a MUST have book for waterfall hunters, Mr.Plumb does a excellent job in telling you how to get to the falls, how hard it is to get to it and how nice the falls are. Plus there are a lot of real nice photo's here,although there all black and white, except the cover of the book.
   I also liked how he has maps of each "section" of the three states in this book.
   Each waterfall listed in the book Mr.Plumb tells you how to get to that waterfall, what kind of waterfall it is, how hard it is to get to it, the height of the falls, a star rating on how nice the falls are, and a little detail about the waterfall, and each waterfall he listed in the book has a very good map on where it is.
   You certainly WILL NOT be disappointed in this book, I use it whenever I look to see what falls I want to go to.



2. I sent for this book at the same time as another book, The first book from another vendor got to my house within a week. I waited the 7 to 21 days and still not book from "Caiman", I e-mailed them and got an automated responce of "7 to 21 day" At 30 days I e-mailed them back, a book got to me at about 31 days, bad business!



3. This fantastic book is in it's 4th or 5th printing. The reason why is because it is so comprehensive, and so thorough, and so original.
   
   The author not only visited literally hundreds of waterfalls all listed in this book, which must have taken months of research, plus travels, and studying of topographic maps, on top of countless miles of hiking, backpacking, and even some boating. The book is also very easy to read. There are no long passages of famous quotes from naturalists of the past. Just lists of waterfalls grouped by region, making it very easy to see more than a few on one trip. Add great directions and maps on how to get there, and superb descriptions of each waterfall. He also rates the waterfalls, gives information on how worthy the view is, how easy or hard it is to get to the waterfall.
   
   If you are a waterfall lover, or even think you're interested in seeing some, this valuable book is as good as it gets.