Guest Author - Jill Florio

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. 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) and the full-color layout. 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. 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. 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.

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