5 comments about Best Loop Hikes: New Hampshire's White Mountains to the Maine Coast (Best Hikes).

1. This book was a gift and the person receiving it has realy loved it.



2. This book helped in what I was looking for. In conjunction with another white mountain book and maps this served its purpose. I thought it is a good reference to narrow down the areas of interest. I would recommend this book. I think they could have added alot more hikes to the book, but then it wouldn't be the Best Loop Hikes i guess.



3. We justed returned from 9 days in New England, and the vacation was a wonderful success, in part, because of the research we did before leaving Colorado. I purchased 4 books from Amazon in preparation, and the book about Loop Hikes was the BEST investment we made. We made several hikes, and my favorite was Hike #11 in this book; Franconia Notch. What a wonderful time we had, and we would NOT have known about the hike if we had not researched this book. It was accurate with great maps and directions of where to go and what to expect. Although we hike at home in Colorado, we are "amateurs" and found this book VERY helpful.
   Thank you, and Happy Trails!



4. The author has completed every hike in this book and it shows. The trail descriptions are detailed and accurate. I like that all pertinent information is provided for each hike. He includes directions to the trailhead, distance of the hike, elevation gain and profile, difficulty level, and recommended direction to do each loop. Sometimes there are suggestions for shortening or lengthening the journey in a particular area. We have also enjoyed his descriptions of the sights and sounds to look and listen for along the way, along with the historical notes. And each hike has been a good one!



5. The book is good and very professional and detailed, but most of the hikes are moderate to hard level. We did a "kid friendly" hike, and it was not easy at all, even to adults... maybe families with kids over 12-13 will enjoy it better.

1 comments about Maine Mountains Trail Map 1: Baxter State Park-Katahdin/Rangeley-Stratton/Gulf Hagas.

1. I used this map at Baxter State Park for a hike up to Katahdin. It's a detailed and hardy map, resistant to tearing and water damage.

5 comments about Hiking Acadia National Park (Regional Hiking Series).

1. This is an invaluable guidebook for hikers at Acadia National Park. Our family -- including children ages 12, 9 and 3 -- visited Acadia for four days this summer and used this book to select a variety of trails. The authors describe the grade, distance, degree of difficulty and sights of nearly 150 miles of trails. Following their advice, we went along the Wonderland Trail to an enormous tidal pool, and chose the most appropriate route for our group up 1,200-foot Penobscot Mountain; there are many trails to the top of the mountain, and the book helped us choose the right one for our skill and fitness level. The older two children and one parent also climbed the cliffs of the Beehive; it's rightly described as a strenuous trail, but if you're not afraid of heights, the view of the coast is spectacular and the taste of wild blueberries at the top makes it special. (This hike is listed as one of the authors' favorites.) We found the book extremely useful. The book would also be useful for more experienced hikers; the authors have been on all of the park's trails, in all kinds of conditions. And the book fits neatly in a backpack, for handy reference in case you need to check the maps while hiking. Highly recommended.



2. I found this book to be very helpful in planning my vacation in Acadia. I have 2 boys aged 5 and 13 and needed hikes that were doable for the youngest one. He turned out to be the best hiker of us all! This book gave me a good sense of what the trails would be like. We only did easy and moderate and one strenuous one (South Bubble Trail). You will need to buy a more detailed map (like from the AMC) but the trails are well marked. I liked the section on the authors' favorite hikes. We did most of our hikes from their recommends. Don't miss the Wonderland and Great Head trails if you go! Happy hiking.



3. Good book and the descriptions are accurate.
   If you haven't been to Acadia, this is a good book to get.
   Acadia National Park is very big and has a lot of different areas with many options, so this book really helps you make informed decisions.



4. This book was very useful for planning hikes. Notice that I said hikes, not bike trips or kayaking or sightseeing or photography. I found the directions for the trailhead especially useful, since not all trails in Acadia start at a marked parking lot. The authors helpfully group the hikes by the various regions of Mt Desert Island and the hikes seem appropriately rated. You can use the individual elevation diagrams to gauge the difficulty yourself. I picked up this book over the AMC guide because this was specifically for hiking whereas the AMC guide covered hiking, biking, and kayaking.
   
   That said, this book could definitely use a little updating. For one, did the publisher really save significant money by using only black and white pictures? Secondly, some of the trails have been renamed since the original printing. Thirdly, although each hike is accompanied by a highlighted map, I prefer the AMC approach with a full map included inside the book.
   
   In summary, bring this book, but get another one to appreciate all of the other things around Acadia NP, Bar Harbor, and the other communities on Mt Desert Island.



5. The most important thing to know about these reviews is that they are of two completely different books, by the same authors. Most of the reviews (including this one) are of Kong and Ring's Hiking Acadia National Park, a 250-page guidebook with detailed descriptions of 94 hikes, ranging from easy to strenuous. Our family (me, my wife, and two daughters, 14 and 12) used this guide for 4 days in Acadia earlier this summer, and found it clear, accurate, and extremely helpful in choosing appropriate hikes. Everyone who has reviewed this book up to now has given it 4 or 5 stars. I do agree with the 4-star review that you should also get a trail map at the park; they sell a map that's more detailed and up-to-date on trail names than the small maps in the book.
   
   However, several of the reviews are of Kong and Ring's Best Easy Day Hikes: Acadia National Park. This is a much shorter book (96 pages, only 21 hikes) and we didn't use it. It gets mixed reviews; some liked it, some hated it. See David Prager's review for a detailed, evenhanded summary of its pros and cons. Unfortunately, when you click on "Look inside" for this book, it takes you to the first book instead, so there's no way to look at this and decide if it's the best book for you. Amazon really messed up on this one.

2 comments about Maine Lighthouses Map - Illustrated Guide.

1. Excellent write ups about each lighthouse in Maine as well as map of where they all are... thanks



2. I actually purchased this Maine Lighthouses Illustrated Map & Guide for a co-worker who has never visited Maine. I have worn out edge to edge 4 of these all by myself over the years. Out of all the maps I have purchased, this is the only one with step by step driving directions. We return to Maine every fall and revisit all our favorite lighthouses. This type of map is a must to have and one other states with lighthouses should have!

5 comments about Waterfalls of the White Mountains: 30 Hikes to 100 Waterfalls.

1. I am an avid hiker of the Appalachian Mountains from the Carolinas to Maine. As such, I have purchased my share of guidebooks. Without a doubt in my mind, this is the best guidebook ever published. It reads more like a novel. I live in both Florida and New Hamphire and I find myself picking up this book to read for pleasure when I'm in Florida, 1000's of miles from the White Mountains. This book is efficient. As the title suggests, one can cover 100 waterfalls in 30 hikes, most of which are not very grueling. The book describes the waterfalls in detail but reads like a novel. It uses descriptions from early guidebooks as well, some over 100 years old! The directions to the waterfalls are clear and well written and include vital statistics like distance to each, vertical elevation gained, difficulty and altitude. A sketch map is shown for each hike (although one would use a separate topographic map for the actual hike). In addition, and I think this really separates this from other guides, a history is included for each hike of the area. These histories include Indian stories predating European settlement, stories of the early European settlements, the first grand hotels and even ski resorts. It truly gives the reader/hiker a sense of time and place. If you hike the White Mountains get this book!



2. I was very pleased with the book all the info in it was excellent!!!!



3. This is one of the best hiking guides written, and is certainly the definitive guide to the magical waterfalls of the White Mountains. "Here," promises the Forward, "are all the cascading torrents, the forest-bound rills, the well-known tourist attractions, and the often overlooked gems." This book not only takes you to all of those gems, it does so with with clarity, with poetry, and with such entertaining background information that you will enjoy leafing through its pages whether you are making your way up the side of Mount Washington or sitting in an office in the heart of Manhattan.
   
   Each waterfall, from Beaver Brook to the intriguingly named Sphinx Cascades, comes with a striking photo. A detailed hiking map is included for each fall, as well as a precise description of how to get there. (You definitely won't get lost.) Distances, location and elevation are also given. Most useful of all, the hike is rated in terms of difficulty, which is very convenient for those traveling with children. A short introduction gives useful hiking and swimming information,photography tips, weather considerations, an interesting explanation of the origins of the waterfalls, and even "waterfall moods." At the back of the book, several useful appendices provide campground information, bedrock geology and nearby trips. There is also a detailed index.
   
   As a hiking guide, I found this book to be indispensable. As a reminder of those enchanting cascades during the dead months of winter, it was inspirational.



4. I'm the webmaster of [...] As such, this book (and my battered, dogeared first edition) has been an invaluable resource. I've probably gotten more mileage out of this book than any other waterfall book on my extensive shelf. If you like waterfalls, if you like mountains, and you live in the New England area, do yourself a favor and buy this book. It'll provide you with endless enjoyment of some of nature's finest spectacles.



5. Wonderful guide showing exactly how far and how to get to each of the many waterfalls in White Mountain region. I am a landscape photographer that has used this guide to find many waterfalls that I could not possibly know exist or how to find on my own. Very few waterfalls in this region can be seen for the road and one must earn the priveledge to see them by hiking along trails. This book will help you find these trails, know how far and how difficult the trail will be. My only nit is the layout of the 'book' is a bit frustrating but the info in each 'chapter' is layed out perfectly. If you want a guide for hiking to the many waterfalls look no further, this is the book, period!!!

1 comments about AMC's Best Day Hikes in the White Mountains: Four-Season Guide to 50 of the Best Trails in the White Mountain National Forest.

1. This book is an updated version of the previous "Nature Hikes In the White Mountains, 2nd: Great Family Hikes in the Heart of the White Mountain National Forest." The older version had a definite focus on kids & family. For example, each trip description had a "What's in it for kids" section that was very helpful. You have to dig deeper for that in this version.
   
   This new version greatly improved the "at-a-glance" trip-planner chart toward the front. It was frustrating that the old chart excluded essential information such as trip numbers corresponding to the guide map, estimated hike time and elevation change. All of this you had to pencil in for yourself from the main descriptions. These are all now included, along with icons indicating if the trip has waterfalls, views, wildlife, wildflowers, steepness, is family oriented, suitability for skiing or snowshoeing, etc.
   
   I ordered the old version (out of print) from a used shop and it was our bible on a recent multi-day vacation with our 7-year-old budding hiker. I highly recommend that version, but you can probably enjoy the same results by focusing on the new at-a-glance chart and picking the kid friendly trips. That being said, in this new version, Crystal Cascade, Glen Ellis Falls, the Flume at Franconia Notch and Diana's Baths (all VERY kid oriented trips that we thoroughly enjoyed) are relegated to a general section on natural attractions/walks and are NOT on the new guide map! As a new visitor, I probably would have missed these altogether since the trip descriptions were de-emphasized by being relegated to the back of the book in this way. I made the right decision to leave the new version at home, but purists probably would not have minded missing these as they were a bit over-touristed.
   
   So, mixed results depending on your needs. A great set of guides overall.

3 comments about American Map New England: Road Atlas: Connecticut - Massachusetts - Rhode Island - Maine - New Hampshire - Vermont.

1. This book was great for helping us get around the interstates and highways. It doesn't have much in the way of smaller town road maps making getting around in small New England towns a bit more cumbersome. But I do recommend the book for anyone planning a trip to multiple New England states.



2. We carried these with us on our trip to New England. They really were too heavy and bulky for me to hold. We ended up using a small folded map given to us by our friends we visited.



3. We had a GPS and this map to help us on our trip. Very useful. Thanks

5 comments about Without a Map: A Memoir.

1. The book arrived in mint condition within a few days of my ordering it. I paid $.87 for it plus $3.99 shipping. This is service and product quality that was well worth the price.



2. I struggled to get through this book. I was really captured at the beginning, especially where I grew up in the same town as Hall's mother and was familiar with the locations in the book. I felt sorry for Hall's situation and couldn't even imagine sustaining such abuse as she did while pregnant. Obviously it messed her up quite a bit. Hall is truly gifted and I enjoyed her diction and tone.
   
   Once the baby was born (or maybe once she broke up with the fisherman), this story kind of fell apart. She talks about events as fragments and doesn't talk about why she does them. I couldn't figure out why she chose walking around Europe over meeting up with her boyfriend as she was supposed to. And then she comes home and boom, she's divorced. I'm sorry, was there a marriage in there that you want to tell us about? The stories seem to skip around and I really lost the point of why we were hearing about them.
   
   I'd love to read more from this author, I just hope she synthesizes it better.



3. No doubt the author, Meredy, went through a very confused stage in her life. But given the time period of when & where the tragedy (the pregnancy at 16) occurred, I am not surprised nor would I completely blame her parents for shunning her out of their lives. I felt she blamed her parents for her actions and it was not until the very end that she admit that the behaviors she experienced was the cause of her own fault and no one else. Her parent's decision at that time was not wrong though it was cruel, and how would she have raised a child on her own at age 16? She lead an adventurous life, something she probably couldn't have done so freely if she was bound to motherhood and without a high school diploma. In addition, I found the jumping of timeframe from past-present-future a bit confusing. And she never identified what it is she did for a living (she mentions students in her class, was she a teacher? Then goes vaguely into details about her farm?) or go into further depth on the relationship that abruptly ended with her husband which bore her two sons. (Did her past haunt her which ended in a failed marriage? Was her husband a father and part of her son's lives or did he abandon them just as her father did when he remarried?) I felt there were a lot of unexplained questions that needed answers after I was finished reading this book, but that's my personal thought/opinion.



4. I thought this book was going to be about a girl who gave up her baby. That storyline constituted about 1% of the book. It was completely underdeveloped. I really struggled to get through this book with all it's random side stories. The description of this book on the cover and on Amazon is really misleading. I wouldn't recommend this book.



5. Depressing and pointless. Tales of struggle usually end with redemption, not more sadness and melancholy. Disappointing, dreary, and dull.

5 comments about Frommer's Maine Coast (Frommer's Complete).

1. We referred to this book frequently during our stay in Acadia. We didn't find any errors or misinformation, and so I'm giving it the highest rating because it served its purpose well.



2. I live on the coast of Maine and have many requests from friends to visit during the summer and fall. I always send this book out before my friends arrive so that they can see everything the Maine coast has to offer and so that I can adequately make a plan for them to see the things that matter most to them. It is an invaluable guide and it "spot on" with descriptions.



3. I purchased this as a gift for someone moving to the Maine coast. Frommers has always been helpful to me when I move to or visit a new region.



4. This is an outstanding book. We used the book for all of our reference points for Bar Harbor and the surrounding areas. I would recommend this book to anyone who is not familuar with Maine and all that it has to offer. Buy the book and use it to plan all of your activities and places to eat.



5. well written lots of information, but several years old, I thought it would be 2008, some things are gone others have changed owners, but we'll take it with us and over all good information

5 comments about Maine Atlas & Gazetteer.

1. This book has categories of attractions in the front that you can use to find parks and natural features.



2. This is a great atlas for the state of Maine. We have purchased other Gazetteers for other states, and this one was purchased as a Christmas gift for a family member who recently moved to Maine. She wanted the detailed type of map that these provide, taking up where state maps usually leave off.



3. DeLorme map books are a tremendous resource. Not only do they have detailed maps, they have info on natural and historic sites, fishing, camping and more.
   These books should belong to anyone who likes to travel, be it near or far!



4. My husband and I bought a canoe this year and picked up a copy of the Maine Atlas & Gazetteer. It has been fabulous for us to find little out-of-the-way ponds and lakes for paddling and fishing. I would also suggest that you get a copy of DeLorme's Maine Fishing Depth Maps...it lists all the lakes and ponds and gives the depths as well as overall size of the pond, the types of fish in each and if there is a boat launch. Must have for paddling and fishing in Maine!



5. Many years ago I developed the habit of purchasing and studying the state's Gazetteer when ever I went hunting or fishing out of state. I purchased this one for a trip to Maine I'm planning. As always, the Gazetteer provides an abundance of helpful information and a better understanding of the distance relations from point A to point B. I use all the other modern navigation gadgets too but I would be lost without my Gazetteer.