[.ca] 100 Classic Hikes in Washington (ISBN 0898865867)

From Amazon.com:
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.

Opinionated guide but great in all respects:
I have read countless hiking books but never have I encountered a preface like this book. Authors Spring and Manning spend many pages going into a diatribe about how the Forest Service has ruined many Washington trails and how ATV's and encroachment has destroyed much of the pristine beauty of the state. I agree with their comments wholeheartedly, but wonder if such "strident" opinions (to some people) are really suitable in a hiking guide. For me, the political opinions were not a distraction, but I want to mention them in case you are expecting simply a typical guidebook with no ancillary commentary. Now, to the book itself. Washington is a magnificent and beautiful state to hike. Even without the magnificent hikes in and around the Seattle, there are plenty of other trails to explore and enjoy. This book does it all! It is an exceptionally well-designed book for hikers across the spectrum. Whether you're a neophyte or have climbed Denali, this book contains all the essential information you need to tackle the hikes listed. The photos are all in color and are breathtaking! You really get a sense of what each hike will look like before you undertake it. Every hike also has a brief map to accompany the text description. The maps are easy to follow and instructive. There are also black and white photos of each trail, with two color sections. Equally pleasing is that the authors take the time to describe each hike in extensive detail, though they are never wordy. They list the elevation gains, give succinct but necessary directions to each trailhead and provide ample analysis of the strengths/weaknesses of each trek. The book is small and light enough to carry in your backpack, if you feel the need to consult it while on the trail. I have over 50 hiking books in my library and it would be hard to imagine a more complete, more photographically stunning or better written guide. From desert to mountains, Washington has it all. I enthusiastically recommend this gem with the small warning about the authors injecting personal opinions about the Forest Service.

More from the masters of diatribe:
Authors Spring and Manning would have done much better serving their readers with more about hikes in Washington and less with their ad nauseum opinions on the Forest Service.

Experienced WA hiker does not recommend this book..........:
...and recommend in its stead : Hiking Washington's Geology, ISBN: 0898865484. I live in WA state, and have owned "100 Classic Hikes in WA" for 5 years; I repeatedly "try" to reference for new hiking ideas, but every time end up closing the book in disgust. Here is why: 1. The prose is terrible (excessively 'flowery' and overblown); 2. Non-stop negative "preaching" against the forest service, motorized vehicles, horses & dogs on the trail. 3. Hike descriptions, when not oriented on preaching, are not very descriptive of the specific features as seen on the hike. Because of this, the valuable information, such as difficulty of hike, accesibility of trailhead, & attraction of hike (view, flowers, etc) is very hard to extract from the hike descriptions. I consider myself an experienced outdoors-person, and hit the trails almost every weekend during good weather. Sometimes I hike with friends, sometimes I take my dog, sometimes I bring the trailer & ride with my horse, and sometimes I take a mountain bike. My point is: these men found innumerable ways to slam almost every activity I do in the mountains: according to their never-ending negativity, the only good trail is one in which only a walking human is allowed. My recommendation to the authors is to spend less time 'educating' the public with your incredibly biased opinions and more time on the purpose of the book: educating people on the best places to go in WA for a great hike. "Hiking WA's Geology" is a much better book, even if you are not interested in geology for the following reasons: 1. Hike descriptions are written by authors experienced in technical writing, i.e. you recieve the most amount of pertinent information in as few words as possible. 2. Many of the trails are 'off the regularly beaten path' 3. Descriptions give detailed information along each section of the hike, so the hiker knows not only the 'what & why' of what he is seeing, but also any technical challenges that might arise (paraphrased e.g.: 3 miles down the trail, the trail becomes difficult to follow, watch for campsite #22, walk to the left, find the trailhead again).

Classic = Old:
My criticism of this guide applies to all of the so-called "classic" hikes series. It is difficult for me to write, because Harvey Manning was once one of the best guidebook writers on the planet, and Ira Spring's photos are awesome. But that was then, and this is now. The books are poorly edited, inaccurately updated, sloppy attempts to sell a few more great color pictures and once-good-but-now-preachy Manning writing. Anyone who has been on any one of the trails of this guide should be able to find at least one significant innacuracy in the description, largely because I'll bet the authors haven't hiked on some ot the trails since they wrote the first edition, almost a half-century ago. Sadly, some of the photos in this book are in error, too - such as the photo of the "marsh marigold" on page 234, which is actually a Western anemone; or the photo of the "avalanche lily" on page 198, actually a glacier lily. Worse still is the picture on page 35, which shows campers tending a fire in an area where fires have been banned for the past 20 years. In sum, the classic series does little to enhance the fine reputations of these two guidebook authors.

AWESOME!:
So far I have only done four hikes in this book, but I intend to try them all! The colorful pictures are a nice incentive to hike that long distance. From a one and a half mile hike to a 500 mile hike, this book will accomodate any level hiker and any time limits they may have. This book gives directions as well as how many miles the hike is and the elevation you will be gaining. It provides estimated time allotments and phone nubers to call to reserve camp sites and see if trails are open. Best of all there are hikes from the Pacific Ocean to the Cascades. This book is must have for hikers in the great state of Washington!