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These really are classic hikes and deserve some history being written about them. One problem I had was visualizing where on a map the hikes were, so I made a Google Map that locates all of the hikes: [.].I have found the map to be a very useful supplement to the book. I refer to this book more than any other hiking book I have. If you want more details than what the book describes, consult maps and trip reports. Feel free to use it yourself. Each and every hike in the book has something really extraordinary about it. I personally like the dialogue about the hikes that many of the other reviewers dislike.
He didn't put it down and said he couldnt wait to use it. I gave this as a gift to a friend of mine who lives in WA and hikes. He absolutely loved it.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
Of the 100 hikes listed in this book, less than 5 of them are accessible in May, and all of those are either on the coast or east of the Cascades. The other disappointment was that a very large percentage of the hikes involve trips of multiple days. This is a beautifully illustrated book - I'll certainly give it that. The weather isn't the authors' fault, but one would hope there would be a few "classic" hikes that would be accessible at other times than mid-summer. I'm sure they're gorgeous, but this borders more on camping trips than hikes.I found Foghorn Outdoors Washington Hiking: The Complete Guide to More Than 400 Hikes (Foghorn Outdoors) to be a much more useful guide. I didn't get into the prose, though, because as I thumbed through the summary description of each hike, I was disappointed to find how few of them are accessible to the casual hiker. I'm going to Seattle in mid-May and I wanted to take a few hikes while I was there.
"Ira and Harvey," as my hiking partner and I fondly refer to the authors, are probably the best hiking writers / photographers I've ever encountered. We usually preface our hikes from this book by reading the hike description aloud and laughing over Manning's excesses.My edition is one older than this listing, and in it, as another reviewer remarks, the authors do rail against motorized vehicles. However, that is what makes it special. However, the authors have pulled together their favorite 100 hikes and feel free to tell you exactly why they think they're great.
However, I have never seen that in this book. Anyone who's been asphyxiated by a 4-wheeler and coughed for minutes after its departure can appreciate and agree with their rants. In fact, Harvey references hikes with his dog fondly. If you can only own one hiking book for Washington, this is the one. I have noticed in later editions of Mountaineers books anti-dog writing which bothers me - a lot. Yes, the book is opinionated; there is no doubt about that.
In the edition I have, there is no negative mention of dogs or horses. It's entertaining, informative, recommends fantastic hikes, and has great photos. If you want a book with 1000 hikes and a short listing of facts, this book isn't for you. Ira (Spring) was a famous photographer in his day, and I enjoy drooling over his photos of the sites I'll see on the way to hike.
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