[.ca] Maine Mountain Guide, 8th: The hiking trails of Maine ... (ISBN 1878239740)

Good trail companion:
This book provides accurate technical information about many Maine trails -- distance, difficulty, altitude, location of water, etc. I successfully used the guide to plan several hikes in Baxter State Park. The fold-out maps provided in the pocket-part are worth the price of the book. My complaints are these: (1) the book needs to be updated more frequently, and (2) it really needs a few well-placed photographs of the more challenging trails. For example, although I inferred the Dudley Trail up Mt. Katahdin was steep (based on the altitude and distance information provided), the book does nothing to convey the visceral impact of the view from Pamola Peak down to Chimney Pond Lake. It's dizzying in a way that makes you want to use your entrails for rope. And, that's something you don't want to discover from the summit.

Excellent Guide - but does not include Acadia:
Like other AMC hiking guides in this series (AMC White Mountain Guide, for example), the book includes detailed trail descriptions and top-notch maps. However, be aware that although this guide claims to include "nearly 200 peaks," it does not include every little mountain in Maine (a very big state). Most notably, Acadia National Park is omitted from this book. Finally, the maps, although excellent, are paper, not tyvek.

An Exellent Guide for anyone Hiking in Maine:
This book is an exellent guide to anyone hiking in Maine. It details many trails, from long backpacking trips to short nature walks. Included with the guide are maps that are a valuable resource when hiking in the Maine wilderness. The only downside to the bguide is that it is only published every few years, and trails on private land sometimes change over time. Other than that it is a very detailed, complete guide to hiking in Maine

"The definitive guide" to the mountains of Maine:
I think the publisher said it best, this is "the definitive guide" to the mountains of Maine. No trip in the area should be planned without first consulting this book. It covers in detail every portion of a trip, including approxiamte rates of travel. This book is one of the professional resources that I use whenever I plan an expedition in the mountains of Maine.