60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Philadelphia Book Review

60 Hikes within 60 Miles:Philadelphia, by Sandra and Gareth Kear

Publication Date: November 1, 2009

Page Count: 336 pages

After we decided to really invest our time and a good portion of our lives into hiking, I scoured the internet looking for any books and decent information that I could get my hands on. You would be surprised how many books on hiking there actually are! The quality varies from text to text, but here at Hiking with Impunity, I wanted to share not only our accounts of our outdoor journeys, but wanted to share my opinion on different books and gear.

60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Philadelphia is part of the 60 Hikes within 60 Miles series by Menasha Ridge Press. I cannot speak for the whole series, only the Philadelphia book written by the Kears. The text has a small introduction with some interesting tips, but the reason you purchase this book is for the Hike suggestions, not the advice on how to backpack.

60 hikes are included within the book with varying degrees of information. The index of hikes that starts the book is interesting, helpful and makes the book immediately worth the money. Hikes are assigned to certain categories, such as "Hikes with Strenuous Climbs," "Hikes for Fall Colors," "Hikes along water," etc.  I've used this index several times now and chosen a hike based on my mood.

Once you get into the book itself, each hike's first page presents "At-a-glance" information that is very helpful: length, configuration of trail (i.e. loop or out-and-back), hiking time, hiking surface, etc. Other key information, such as "Directions to Trailhead" and GPS coordinates are helpful - but I found my car's GPS rarely could find the address listed. A map page with elevation profile and trail information is usually found on the next page while the rest of the content explains the best routes to take on the hike. Some of the content does betray the age of this book, and I am hoping that they will be releasing an updated edition soon. This was particularly bothersome when the "Dark Hollow: Neshaminy Creek Palisades" hike, which was described as a 3.9 mile balloon hike in the book turned into a 5.7 mile hike. Clearly there were fresh blazes on the tree, so there are two explanations for this: 1. A new trail was blazed recently (which post-dated this 2009 text); or, 2. Our beginner streak of not following directions correctly continued.

The text itself is easy to read, and I really enjoyed some of the picture captions they had (I hope they were meant to be intentionally funny at times!) as well as the subjective component of each hike.

Beginners & experienced hikers in the Philadelphia area alike should find something in this book that they will like. Who knows? Maybe you'll find a hike right in your own backyard (or within 60 miles) that you didn't know existed!!

4/5 rating

The Outdoor Survival Bible Book Review

The Outdoor Survival Bible, by Rob Beattie

Publication Date: January 20, 2011

Spiral-Bound: 192 pages

The Outdoor Survival Bible is the perfect book for the beginner hiker. Covering everything from what clothing to wear to how to start a fire, this spiral-bound book is nicely illustrated throughout. Drawings of knots, compasses, hikers, and the like, adorn each page giving this book a friendly, easily accessible vibe.

Each chapter starts with the word "Getting." "Getting Ready," "Getting Hurt", and "Getting Warm" are some of the examples of the sections in this book. The divisions are natural and flow nicely. While not as in-depth as some of the classic texts about walking and hiking (i.e. The Backpacker's Field Manual, Revised and Updated, Curtis), the intensity of this book is pitched perfectly at the beginner. 

Most pages present easy to follow bullet points that are succinctly written yet surprisingly thorough. For example, the pages on "How to Find Yourself Again" present options available to the lost hiker. While the majority of the points made rely on the availability of a reader's common sense, it is perhaps good to have these points spelled out. It is usually when people are in a predicament that remembering to "look and listen" can be a particularly helpful insight. If this book was what the memory referred to in a moment of panic, that it will have done it's job well. 

There is a quick-reference section toward the back of the book which is broken up into various "Situations." Each situation presented is followed by "What to do first" and a reference to the appropriate pages within the book. Using this as a quick-reference to the rest of the book is handy, but it perhaps would've been even more useful if this section came with perforated pages that you could rip out and carry with you. Again, there's nothing in here that the experienced hiker wouldn't already know, but the beginner may be happy to have these pages stuffed in their pocket or their pack to pull out if needed. 

The last part of the book contains pages in which you can write "Notes & Observations" as well as "Important Contact Numbers." My opinion are that pages such as these - outside of a standard journal - usually act as filler and add nothing to the book itself. Being that the book is spiral-bound, the inclusion of them is questionable at best.

All in all I would most definitely recommend this book for those of you who have never hiked or are fairly new to hiking. For those of you more experienced, you may find better books to spend your money on.

For the beginner hiker, I'd give this book a 4/5

For the experienced hiker, I'd give this book a 3/5