60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Birmingham

Rating:
Summary: Finally!
Review: As a new citizen to Birmingham I was anxious to explore the city and its surroundings. After conquering the trails of Oak Mountain, Ruffner Mountain and Little River, I was eager to move on to bigger, better more!
A good compilation of local trails in detail. The difficult choice now is which one do I tackle next weekend?

Rating:
Summary: Portico Birmingham Magazine
Review: From our local publisher, Menasha Ridge Press, this is a welcome book for all nature-lovers in Birmingham. You'll find rural and urban hikes, wildlife hikes, historic hikes and more. There are ample illustrations and the book is attractive enough to lure you out of the house to get out and make use of the great weather we enjoy neary year-round (the dog-days of July and August not included).

Rating:
Summary: Well written but missing crucial GPS information
Review: This book is very well written and gives great trail descriptions of some of my favorite hikes and some hikes that are sure to become my favorites.

I bought it but returned it to my local store when I discovered that the author did not include any GPS waypoint coordinates. This is unfortunate because the book description states that it contains GPS based maps. It does contain maps that were created using what must have been the author's GPS tracks/waypoints, but I am disappointed that the author did not share the GPS waypoints with his readers.

In this day and age, any new trail guide really needs to take advantage of the incredible capabilites of GPS technology and share waypoints with the reader. If the next edition of this book includes waypoints, then I will certainly buy it. If you do not use a GPS then you will find this book very helpful. If you do use GPS, you will feel somewhat disappointed that the author did not share his GPS waypoints.