Longer than three hours, less than 12 – that’s one of the criteria used to select the hikes listed in this guidebook. Trails must also be well-marked or obvious, lead to a peak or another geographical feature in the alpine, and be representative of the topography and current ecological condition of southwestern B.C.. It’s the same format Mary and David Macaree used when they wrote the first edition of 103 Hikes in Southwestern British Columbia in 1973, and it’s the same format Jack Bryceland uses in this 6th edition, published in 2008.

The guide begins with a mere four pages of introductory notes: from a brief history of the guide, to general cautions (trail stats are for guidance only), to new additions (trailhead grid references), to the final (long) paragraph on hiking preparedness.

It then jumps into the meat of the matter – the hikes themselves. From Tin Hat Mountain on the Sunshine Coast to Frosty Mountain in Hope-Manning Park, this 241-page trail guide is packed with options – 103 to be exact. Each hike follows a standard, two-page format: trail number, location, bolded trail name, trail stats (distance, elevation, average grade, driving distance, estimated completion time, high point, trailhead grid reference, and map number and name), map, black-and-white photo and written trail description.

Written trail descriptions always begin with a paragraph on why you might want to consider this hike, e.g. “Black Tusk is such a visible and identifiable summit from so many locations in southwestern British Columbia that it is on the tick list of a large percentage of the area’s hikers. ” The second paragraph spells out driving instructions (unless accessed partway along another trail already described in the guide). The final paragraph highlights the trail route itself and includes all trail junctions, obvious geographical features, and highlights points where caution is needed, e.g. “ The chimney should be negotiated with care, although handholds are numerous and the rock formation gives some protection from exposure. ”

An additional 38 hikes are listed at the back of the guide (some of which can be found in previous editions and have been removed because of trail deterioration, road construction, and/or to make way for new hikes in the 103 listing. Brief three to four-line descriptions explain where to go for further information.

Something new that I’ve not seen before is a ranking of all 103 hikes for hiking times (from 3 hours for Mount Lincoln to 12 hours for Nicomen), driving distance from Vancouver, B.C. (the closest being Grouse Mountain, the farthest being Mount Stoyoma), high points (556 ft elevation on the Diez Vistas Trail to 2460 ft elevation on Mount Outram), elevation gains (30 ft to Lightening Lakes and 1800 ft on Mount Outram), round trip distances ( 3 km on Mount Lincoln to 30 km on Nicomen Lake), and average grades (0.7% on the Skagit River Trail to 38.7% on Mount Lincoln). And finally, there is a list of maps and map sources and 36 website addresses for further information.

This book is direct, fact-filled, and with just enough colour (“be prepared for the delays caused by the profusion of huckleberries and blueberries along the way”) to entice hikers to don their boots and hit the trail.