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Rating: 
Summary: not so good
Review: I completed a thru-hike of the Continental Divide Trail this year, and I have say that these "official" guides are pretty awful. If you want a real CDT guidebook, get the Jim Wolf guides from the Continental Divide Trail Society - they are infinitely superior to these Westcliffe guides. Wolf is better written, more detailed, has better information and data, and on and on and on. The Westcliffe had 2 advantages for me - one was that they were written in my direction of travel (except for CO, whihc is written in a different direction than the other guidebooks??!!!), which has something to be said for it; and the second is that they are occasionally more up to date as far as recent changes go, which means that they helped out in a couple potentially iffy situations. Other than that, though, the Westcliffe guides had me FUMING throughout the trip - they are riddled with inaccuracies, mistakes, omissions, bad writing, unclear writing, and on and on and on. Every single day, I think, almost without fail, the Westcliffe guides would blow it in at least one major place. Now I know the CDT is (at this point) still all about using a variety of maps and books and whatever else you can dredge up to find your way and not relying on one guidebook source, and we did. So in that light, you could think of the Westcliffe guides as just another piece to add or subtract. But standing on their own, the fact that they purport to be "official" is preposterous, not just because they omit some great "non-official" sections like the Gila Middle Fork, Parry Peak, and Temple Pass, but because they are sold as "guidebooks" when they are more like "lostbooks." To be honest, I think the Westcliffe guides are so bad that they border on being irresponsible.
Rating: 
Summary: A Guide To An Adventure
Review: I had been thinking for some time to do a backpacking trip on the Continental Divide Trail. I knew that I would need some assistance. I purchased this book in the fall of 1999. I spent the next six months planning my adventure. Since I had only 7 days to spend on the trail, I decided to hike Segments 24, 25 and 26 (from Winfield to Hancock). I planned my trip exactly form this book. When I got on the trail July 1, 2000, it was if I had my own personal trail guide with me. I knew exactly what to expect, how far I would hike each day, where the water and the good camp sites were. The driving directions were very accurate to the trailhead, the mileage and guidemarkers were also accurate. Each night I camped at the locations I expected and found water where the author said it would be. I finished my 7 day hike within 2 hours of my expected time! Never had I been on the CDT before! If you have any interest in the CDT I would urge you to purchase this book. I'm now planning my adventure for next year from this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Guide To An Adventure
Review: I had been thinking for some time to do a backpacking trip on the Continental Divide Trail. I knew that I would need some assistance. I purchased this book in the fall of 1999. I spent the next six months planning my adventure. Since I had only 7 days to spend on the trail, I decided to hike Segments 24, 25 and 26 (from Winfield to Hancock). I planned my trip exactly form this book. When I got on the trail July 1, 2000, it was if I had my own personal trail guide with me. I knew exactly what to expect, how far I would hike each day, where the water and the good camp sites were. The driving directions were very accurate to the trailhead, the mileage and guidemarkers were also accurate. Each night I camped at the locations I expected and found water where the author said it would be. I finished my 7 day hike within 2 hours of my expected time! Never had I been on the CDT before! If you have any interest in the CDT I would urge you to purchase this book. I'm now planning my adventure for next year from this book.
Rating:
Summary: This book will guide you on an unforgettable challenge
Review: Last summer I hiked the CDT, through the wemmenuche wilderness in southern Colorado. This book was used every day to help us out of our 12 day expedition. The details of the trails described in the book are written so well that I often reread parts of it to put a picture in my mind of the awesome land. Tom Jones does an outstanding job. I will keep this book forever, use it on the trail again, and someday pass it to my children.
Rating:
Summary: This book will guide you on an unforgettable challenge
Review: Last summer I hiked the CDT, through the wemmenuche wilderness in southern Colorado. This book was used every day to help us out of our 12 day expedition. The details of the trails described in the book are written so well that I often reread parts of it to put a picture in my mind of the awesome land. Tom Jones does an outstanding job. I will keep this book forever, use it on the trail again, and someday pass it to my children.
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