Review
...The maps, the directions, the descriptions of each trek are suberb-clear and friendly. Philipp is a hiking and biking mom who writes with a sure hand of the author who cares about kids and cares about activities for the whole family. Bright with fine detail and hardheaded explorations. -- The Book Reader
Want to know the main difference between adults and kids? "Adult hikers tend to like a physical challenge and views. Kids, however, prefer crossing streams on stepping stones or natural log bridges, climbing trees, exploring caves..." So Cathy Philipp, who writes a regular hiking column in newspapers, is especially careful to have a Kid Appeal ranking with each hiking entry. The maps, the directions, the descriptions of each trek are superb - clear and friendly. And this field guide of the Southern California coastal area takes us step by step through each hike, the outings are arranged geographically, and there's a helpful glossary of terms. Useful hints about hiking with children. Forget the soccer mom. Philipp is a hiking and biking mom who writes with the sure hand of an author who cares about kids and cares about activities for the whole family. Bright with fine detail and hardheaded explorations. (The Book Reader, Spring 1998).
Hikers and explorers of the Southern California coastal area will appreciate this 1997 hiking guide especially families with children. Although I have hiked the Santa Monica Mountains for years, I found hikes listed in this book that I did not know about, or had heard of but didn't know the access route. Cathy not only provides details of how to get there, where to park, signs to look for, but reports on features of interest to nature buffs, children and view lovers. Her book has a unique feature families will find useful; "Kid Appeal". Each hike has a rating for difficulty, length, elevation and type of trail, and in addition a rating for Kid Appeal, with five stars being the highest. A trail with five star kid appeal can contain waterfalls, grottos, animal tracks, ponds and creeks, and possibly even a pirate's cave (Aggi Raeder, Southern Sierran, December 1997). -- Publisher Comments
