103 Hikes in Southwestern British Columbia [Paperback]

Mary MacAree (Author), David MacAree (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1994

Southwestern British Columbia’s bestselling and most comprehensive hiking guide is bigger and better than ever. It guides hikers of all abilities around lakes, rivers, and mountains from the North Shore and Howe Sound to Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, and east to the Fraser Valley and Hope-Manning Park. Each route contains directions to the trailhead, photographs and descriptions, distance and elevation gains, estimated hiking times, and points of natural or historical interest. In this new edition, the authors offer up the latest trail information and all-new maps to make route-finding easier, plus an expanded, more detailed index that helps hikers chose a trail that's appropriate for the season, the timeframe, and their level of fitness. Engagingly written, meticulously researched, and thoughtfully organized by area, it’s the region’s ultimate guide for trekking year-round.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A single trail guide for all of Southwestern British Columbia? In a region where craggy peaks and alpine lakes abound, it might seem an impossible undertaking. But the authors have successfully showcased most of Southern British Columbia's most awe-inspiring trails, all in one handy volume. From Pemberton and Lytton in the north to the U.S. border, and from Sechelt in the west to Keremeos in the east, 103 Hikes conveniently covers a vast and magnificent region. For each destination, vehicle approach and points of historical and natural interest are noted, along with a trail summary of distance, elevation gain, time estimation, and an illustrated route. You learn, for instance, that Unnecessary Mountain earned its name because it stood in the way of historical climbers and their beloved East and West Mount Lions, or why it the complex of pools that includes Garibaldi Lake appears to have no outlet (lava beds permit a subterranean discharge). With at-your-fingertips access to such fine places as Singing Pass, Burnt Stew Lake, and the "Musical Bumps," you'll be on your way to enjoyment of some of the finest hiking in the province.

Product Details

• Paperback: 223 pages
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books; 4th edition (June 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898863953
• ISBN-13: 978-0898863956
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,498,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not impressed, August 5, 2001

By 

steve smith (North Vancouver, British Columbia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 103 Hikes in Southwestern British Columbia (Paperback)

I have had this book for many years and done may of the hikes. It is a great source for the start of the trail but beyond that, you're pretty much on your own.

There are no maps, just had drawn scribbles that seldomly represent the terrain. Be careful to look for the indication of North as it is never to the top of the page as it should.

I just did one of the hikes yesterday, Deaks Bluffs Trail. The book is right on until after the third "Y" in the beggining of the trail but after that, you are totally on your own.

Instead of factual directions or prominate features, the author(s) get way too wordy verging on poetic. Sweet but it doesn't help you in the back country.

Anyone considering this book must realize that the trails contained in this book are serious back country and we pull many people off these mountains banged up, hypothermic and on occassion, dead. I feel that is by and large due to books like this put you in the high country but don't prepare you for whats in store. It doesn't suggest kit or proper clothing. A lovely mountian trail that gets clouded in often means you can't see fifteen feet ahead of you. Visual references are quite important to the less experienced.

It is my opinion that the author(s) should stick to writing "walks" books where the conseqences are less severe.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the three classics, October 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: 103 Hikes in Southwestern British Columbia (Paperback)

Excellent hiking guide. Exact, blow-by-blow details for hikes within a weekend of Vancouver. These hikes all have trails. For off-trail hikes, where one navigates through the forest and alpine with a topographic map, compass, and altimeter, and for descriptions of climbing routes, use the book by Bruce Fairley (which is essentially an update of Dick Culbert's "Hiking Guide to Southwest BC"). Culbert's guide is out of print and badly out of date, but IMO a better, more concise guidebook. For instructions on HOW to hike and climb, try "The Complete Walker III" by Colin Fletcher, and on how to climb try "Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills".

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the best hiking book for the vancouver Region, January 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: 103 Hikes in Southwestern British Columbia (Paperback)

I have worn out 3 copies of this book over the year. Very good selection of hikes within a days drive of Vancouver. Good directions to trail heads and acurate time estimates for hike completion.