Olympic Mountains Trail Guide: National Park & National Forest [Paperback]

Robert L. Wood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1991

This thorough guide covers every trail, short and easy or long and challenging, in Washington's magnificent Olympic mountains.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Whether you're planning an actual trip to the Olympic Mountains or searching for the vicarious thrills of a smart guidebook, Robert L. Wood's encyclopedic knowledge of this enchanting wilderness at the edge of the Pacific will inform and enthrall. This is not a quickie job: the author has hiked every one of the trails he details here (over a hundred) backwards and forwards, most of them more than once, and his enthusiasm is infectious. Before you know it you'll be an expert too--rattling off, for instance, peaks visible from Dodger Point (Rainier, Olympus, the Bailey Range), and the name for the "noisy chatter" along the Putvin Trail (Whitehorse Creek). Divided into two main sections--Leeward and Windward--this handy guide covers the bulk of national forest and parklands worth venturing into. Concise yet thorough, it includes all the necessities--elevation, mileage, maps, landmarks, vegetation, and possible wildlife sightings--in an easy-to-read format. A must for the would-be visitor and armchair adventurer both.

Product Details

• Paperback: 306 pages
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books; 2nd edition (June 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898863201
• ISBN-13: 978-0898863208
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,385,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Very Best Guide to the Olympic Mountains, October 13, 2001

By 

Jim Morrison (Hansville, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Olympic Mountains Trail Guide: National Park & National Forest 3rd Edition (Paperback)

I have done about 80 hikes or climbs in the Olympics in the past two years. I think every description I have used in this book has been accurate. It includes some handy small scale maps as well. The Olympics is one of the best places to hike, winter or summer, and Woods is certainly the expert on the hikes and the history. A must for anyone who is even considering a hike of any length in the Olympics. Like one other reviewer implied, this book is way beyond the simple hike books that simply describe the popular hikes.
Add this book to "Climber's Guide to the Olympic Mountains" by the Olympic Mountain Rescue and you will have everything you need to explore the Olympic Mountains on foot.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Consider this the Bible of hiking in the Olympic Mountains., March 23, 1998

By 

Bill Hoke ([e-mail]) (Poulsbo, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Olympic Mountains Trail Guide: National Park & National Forest (Paperback)

This is not your average modern hiking guide with detailed maps, charts of elevation, photographs and how-to's with the discovery done for you, in advance. What Bob Wood has done is to write a scholarly book that happens to be a fine companion on a hike in the Olympic Mountains. It is common to find a hiker sitting near a rock at Marmot Lake, at Three Prune or Home Sweet Home or under a particularly unusual tree or flower paging through the book. It is quite common to over-hear a hiker saying, "Well, accoring to Bob Wood, the trail is easier whern you go north to south." Bob should know the Olympic Mountain trails because he has hiked over 1000 miles of them, in both directions at least one time and he makes extremely exact, if not scholarly, notes on flora and fauna, adds historical notes in just the right amount, adding caution, humor and some personal observations. But he keeps himself out of it and leaves the discovery to you. The true beauty of this book -- and you can call it a classic -- is that it lets the reader, or the hiker, discover the magic of LaCrosse Basin, Honeymoon Meadow and the thousands of bends in the hundreds of trails in this beautiful national park. You'll be enthralled reading this book at home in the winter as you will when you pull it out on the Skyline Trail to see where the Elk will cross the trail. It is factual, extremely helpful -- if not vital -- in the hands of the experienced hiker on a Bailey Range Traverse as it is in the hands of the day hiker, venturing out for the first time. Best of all, the Olympic Mountain Trail Guide does not take away the surprise and discovery of putting on the boots, lifting the pack and walking in some of the most beautiful country in the world.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great guide, but NOT a "100 Hikes" book, September 9, 2001

By 

Andrew Leonard "Andy L" (Bellevue, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Olympic Mountains Trail Guide: National Park & National Forest 3rd Edition (Paperback)

Don't purchase this information-dense book thinking you're going to get something that you can use like a Spring and Manning "100 Hikes" guide, with their 100 pre-planned trips. Instead, this book is best used by getting a map first, finding a potentially interesting trail, and then looking it up in the book (it'll be in there!). What you'll find then will be a wealth of information about the trail for planning your trip.

The book also includes fairly detailed information about climbing Mt Olympus in an appendix.