New England Hiking: The Complete Guide to More Than 350 of the Best Hikes in New England (Foghorn Outdoors)

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Summary: great for beginners and experts
Review: I'm just beginning hiking and found this book to be great in locating a variety of trails. Whether you're a beginner or expert you'll find the right trail for you. This book has trails that range from 45 minutes to 5 days. "Butt Kickers to strolls in the park".

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Summary: Outstanding hiking guide for the top New England trails
Review: Mike Lanza's ``New England Hiking'', published by Foghorn Press, is an excellent guide to more than 350 trails in all six of the New England states. The guide is useful for both experienced and beginning hikers. Major features of the guide include:- Six state maps that show numbered references to particular trails, and locate the trailheads. Accompanying each state map is an index that cross-references detailed trail information in the guide.- Individual trail descriptions indicate hiking distance and time, directions to the trailhead, maps and contacts, and notes that tell the hiker what to expect on the trail.- For each trail, there's also the author's overall rating from poor (1) to great (10), and the degree of difficulty from ``a stroll'' (1) to ``a real butt-kicker'' (5). In my experience on about 10% of the trails in the guide, the ratings are accurate, and should be especially useful to beginners or to those new to New England hiking.One of the outstanding features of the trail notes is the author's personal observations and advice, which in most guide books tend to be stilted and impersonal. For example, concerning the Isolation Trail in the New Hampshire White Mountains, Mike writes:``On day two, hike north three-tenths of a mile on the Davis Path to where the Isolation trail turns west (left) toward the valley of the Dry River; be careful, because this trail junction is easily overlooked -- especially, I can tell you, when it lies under four feet of snow.''In his description of the very challenging Huntington Ravine Trail on Mt Washington, tallest peak in the northeastern U.S., he cautions:``Discard all your preconceived notions of hard trails. Huntington Ravine has earned a reputation as the most difficult regular hiking trail in the White Mountains for good reason,'' and then he goes on with detailed descriptions of that trail's particular challenges.The index to the guide shows not only the trail name but also geographical features such as mountains, lakes, state parks, and towns, making it easy for the user to find trail descriptions in the text.If you use this guide it will be almost like having Mike Lanza along to recommend a hike. The final section of the text lists Mike's recommendations of the best hikes in New England in each of 23 categories, includingFall foliage viewingFor children up to age sevenCoastline or island hikesEasy backpackingSolitude and remotenessMountain bikingCross-country skiing.The ``New England Hiking'' guide is highly recommended for those who plan to hike in the northeastern U.S. It's the single guide that all hikers -- from beginners to peak-baggers -- should have. And Mike's lively writing makes it ideal for the ``armchair hiker'', who prefers to read about the sport rather than actually swatting black flies or avoiding thunderstorms on the trail

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Summary: Absolutely outstanding for novices, experts, dog owners.
Review: This book is terrific. He is very detailed, and offers such useful info as which trails and climbs allow dogs, horses, etc. I leafed through the book for this reason; I like to bring my dog to new places as much as possible. I only wish I had this book 8 years ago, because my dog is nine! The rating system is outstanding as well; 1-5 for difficulty, 1-10 for atmosphere/view. This book has inspired me to make plans to enjoy more of these hikes and to get in optimal shape. The feeling I had on the first small mountain I climbed with my dog was overwhelming - such beauty to behold, but also the feeling of accomplishment I felt. It has changed my outlook on life. On a practical note, if you live in Eastern MA like I do, you know there are few places you can take your unleashed dog; well read this book, hop in the car and drive! I cannot praise this book or its author enough. I wish this had been a bestseller - Lanza deserves it.