100 Classic Hikes in Washington: North Cascades, Olympics, Mount Rainer & South Cascades, Alpine Lakes, Glacier Peak (100 Best Hikes)
by Ira Spring, Harvey Manning
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Book Summary Information
Author: Harvey Manning, Ira SpringEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-08-31
ISBN: 0898865867
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Mountaineers Books
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Book Reviews of 100 Classic Hikes in Washington: North Cascades, Olympics, Mount Rainer & South Cascades, Alpine Lakes, Glacier Peak (100 Best Hikes)
Book Review: Awfully chatty, but a good first guide to Washington State hiking
Summary: 4 Stars
100 Classic Hikes in Washington is one of the nicer-looking books on trails in the area, and is not a bad first guide to discover hiking in the Cascades, Olympics and Mount Rainier.
Written by Ira Spring and Harvey Manning, I get the sense the guide is a local favorite, although I personally don't like the chatty style and lack of consistent structure in the trail descriptions. For some people, notably armchair readers, or area residents seeking local color and history, this style would be considered a bonus.
As a newcomer to the Pacific Northwest, I would forgo knowledge of Ira or Harvey's personal experiences on the trail, in order to quickly reference, say, driving directions. A more user-friendly book would have that information teased out from the chatty text, so the navigator can easily tell the driver which exit to take before they pass it.
What is nice are the smooth-feeling clay-coated pages (more water and tear resistant for taking on the trail) and the full-color layout. Lots of photos show off alpine lakes and mountain passes, with attractive, although very basic, trail maps.
Spring and Manning take the time to provide information on aspects of conservation and environmental protection for each area - and in most cases, within each trail. The authors make no bones about telling you which lakes it would be immoral to camp at - those either overused or very fragile, mostly.
I also appreciated the information provided on spur trails and the portions of the trails past the intended dayhike destination. I would like to have seen expanded trail descriptions, though.
This trail guide is certainly a step up from some guides that are mainly a collection of trail descriptions lifted straight from the Forest Service handouts.
Summary of 100 Classic Hikes in Washington: North Cascades, Olympics, Mount Rainer & South Cascades, Alpine Lakes, Glacier Peak (100 Best Hikes)
Based on their more than 100 years of combined experience in Washington's backcountry, Spring and Manning have selected their favorite trails for this compendium of classic hikes. Full-color photographs throughout supplement the authors' first-hand descriptions of the trails they have hiked many times over. Featuring spectacular views, flower-filled alpine meadows, lakes and streams, ancient forests, animals and birds, and solitude, these trails will give hikers a taste of Washington's best. Infused with a strong conservation message, this guide not only introduces hikers to Washington's gems but encourages them to become active participants in an effort to preserve and, in some cases, reclaim the remaining wilderness.Classic Hikes is a greatest hits of previous Mountaineers guidebooks for Washington, collecting in a single volume 100 hikes from the guides to the Alpine Lakes, North Cascades, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, and South Cascades and Olympics regions. The intelligence behind the selection comes from Ira Spring and Harvey Manning, who between them have more than 100 years of hiking experience in Washington. Owners of other Mountaineers guides will notice that the production values of this volume are even higher than usual; color maps and photos adorn high-quality (recycled) paper. At-a-glance information for easy browsing includes the following: mileage, suggested duration in hours or days, high point, elevation gain, seasonality, topo map codes, and additional contact information. The text synopses are colorful and politically opinionated (woe to the dirt biker who crosses paths with these two!). Their sense of tradition is also readily apparent: "To start with the ice cream and work through the meatballs and potatoes to the soup is not esthetic. Coming to the Enchantments by way of Aasgard is in very bad taste."
While avid hikers will have plenty to argue about concerning the sins of omission, it's hard to argue with the inclusion of Mount Rainier's Wonderland Trail, Whatcom Pass in the North Cascades, Image Lake in the Glacier Peak Wilderness, the Enchantments in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, and the Olympics' High Divide. These represent some of the most spectacular hikes in North America. The downside is that you're not likely to find solitude in such places, no matter how remote. But there are 95 more trails to choose from, many of similar scenic beauty and slightly less fame.
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