[.ca] Olympic Mountains Trail Guide: National Park and ... (ISBN 0898866189)

From Amazon.com:
Whether you're planning an actual trip to the Olympic Mountains or searching for the vicarious thrills of a smart guidebook, Robert L. Wood's encyclopedic knowledge of this enchanting wilderness at the edge of the Pacific will inform and enthrall. This is not a quickie job: the author has hiked every one of the trails he details here (over a hundred) backwards and forwards, most of them more than once, and his enthusiasm is infectious. Before you know it you'll be an expert too--rattling off, for instance, peaks visible from Dodger Point (Rainier, Olympus, the Bailey Range), and the name for the "noisy chatter" along the Putvin Trail (Whitehorse Creek). Divided into two main sections--Leeward and Windward--this handy guide covers the bulk of national forest and parklands worth venturing into. Concise yet thorough, it includes all the necessities--elevation, mileage, maps, landmarks, vegetation, and possible wildlife sightings--in an easy-to-read format. A must for the would-be visitor and armchair adventurer both.

The best got better...:
I owned the 2nd editon for many years and it guided me on numerous trips. But there were some gaps and the age of the book was becoming noticable. So when the 3rd edition came out, I was very excited. Was I let down? NO. Wood accurately describes ever wonderful mile of these mountains and fills in the gaps present in his earlier editions. The new maps are wonderfully done (though still a bit cartoonish) and the new Trail Info summaries make life even easier. I'd recommend this book to anybody hiking anywhere in the Olympics. His 2nd edition was pretty darn good to begin with, but the 3rd some manages to improve on it.

The Very Best Guide to the Olympic Mountains:
I have done about 80 hikes or climbs in the Olympics in the past two years. I think every description I have used in this book has been accurate. It includes some handy small scale maps as well. The Olympics is one of the best places to hike, winter or summer, and Woods is certainly the expert on the hikes and the history. A must for anyone who is even considering a hike of any length in the Olympics. Like one other reviewer implied, this book is way beyond the simple hike books that simply describe the popular hikes. Add this book to "Climber's Guide to the Olympic Mountains" by the Olympic Mountain Rescue and you will have everything you need to explore the Olympic Mountains on foot.

One of my favorites:
Recentley, one of my older customers at my work gave me some old topo maps of the Olympic Pennisula-with Wood's book I was able to match up trails on the maps with waytrails in his book(trails that are no longer on the new topos). The history he writes about is fun to read and he is through with his descriptions of the NF trails, which many books ignore. I also love how he gives elevation at every trail junction, not just at the start & end. A definte must have book if you would like to hike in the Olympics.

Great guide, but NOT a "100 Hikes" book:
Don't purchase this information-dense book thinking you're going to get something that you can use like a Spring and Manning "100 Hikes" guide, with their 100 pre-planned trips. Instead, this book is best used by getting a map first, finding a potentially interesting trail, and then looking it up in the book (it'll be in there!). What you'll find then will be a wealth of information about the trail for planning your trip. The book also includes fairly detailed information about climbing Mt Olympus in an appendix.

Great Book:
Robert L. Wood is the recognized expert on the trails of the Olympic Mountains. I don't think a backpacker will find a better guide, but the real beauty of this book is Wood's descriptions of the trails, which can put even armchair hikers in the middle of the mountains. I guess the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that the maps are terrible and you've got to buy a separate guide if you want to hike the beautiful, wild beaches of the Olympic Peninsula. A very minor quibble, considering the fine, lyric writing, is the way the trails are organized. For example, many of the named trails don't begin at trailheads, but rather from junctions at other trails. Thus if you want to plan a short hike, you must make certain the named trail does not begin 15 miles up the path of another trail.