Hiking North Carolina, 2nd: A Guide to Nearly 500 of North Carolina's Greatest Hiking Trails (State Hiking Series)

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Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

A good book made a lot better March 7, 2007
17 out of 17 found this review helpful

A few years ago, I reviewed this author's first edition. It was then, hands down, the best single reference for hiking in North Carolina. In the 11 years since the first edition was published, quite a bit has happened in the outdoor/hiking scene in the state. The author was kind enough to send me a copy of the 2nd edition, and it's a pleasure to review it.

The first thing that both my wife and I noticed and liked is that the book's pages now have rounded corners, something that every "field guide" should have. The maps have all been completely re-drawn. There is much more detail added, they generally cover a somewhat larger area, and shaded gray scale indicates different elevation levels. A new feature is a simple one, but very helpful -- an alpha index to trails and topics.

The text has been thoroughly and substantially updated. This is not just the first edition with a new cover and a few new photos. The organization of the hikes west of the Blue Ridge has changed from an alphabetical to a generally northeast - southwest directional approach, which is more convenient when planning a trip to a specific area. Expanded text and more photos have added 33 additional pages to the 2nd edition.

If recreational hiking or serious backpacking is for you, and you plan on doing so in North Carolina, this book is an essential reference.

5 out of 5 stars

for more than just hikers, this book is for anyone who moves around at all! March 31, 2007
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I am the editor of a newspaper in North Carolina and I write a monthly travel column. I picked up a handful of North Carolina travel guides to review, and this one happened to be in my stack.

I have to say -- I had high expectations for this book. A quote from CNN.com is printed on the back. Falcon Guides are, "written by top experts and enthusiasts." It's an official American Hiking Society book.

I expected a lot -- and that's what I got.

This book, in short, is amazing. The introduction is lengthy and goes over things you may need, safety information and more. Each trail begins with a one-sentence overview so you can quickly tell if it's not for you, then continues to have easy-to-find points about its general location, detailed information about finding the trailhead, distance, difficulty, best maps, elevation gain or loss, water availability (!!!), and a phone number and Web site link (finally, a guidebook that has realized we entered the 21st century seven years ago and, 9 times out of 10, we want a way to get valuable information without actually speaking to someone).

Following this, each trail features GPS compatible maps and an extremely detailed 1-4 page description of the hike you can take, in addition to pointing out things you might miss along the way (Spanish moss, anyone?) For example: "If you linger over lunch [at the Linville gorge trail] and scan the rock-hewn amphitheater, the start of Linville Gorge, you can imagine the hemmed-in feeling William Linville and his son must have felt near here in 1766 when confronted by Native Americans -- who then scalped them." Wow.

The only con of this book is its title. While I tend to despise the recent trend in the book industry of making titles as long as the books themselves with all sorts of never-before-seen punctuation, it really might be necessary here. People with an interest in walking, trail running, picnicking with their families, educating their children or moving around in any fashion should also pick up this book. The fact that the guide book appears to only encompass hiking may cause many people to skip over it. But take for example the Flat Rock Self-Guiding Loop trail (page 129) near Linville, an educational trail with plant identification signs, inspiring messages and areas to picnic -- perfect for a day out with children.

At $19.95, it's a little steep -- but it's worth it if you want to spend any part of your vacation outdoors.

3 out of 5 stars

A good starting point... May 21, 2007
7 out of 10 found this review helpful

This was a good book for a general description of several trails in North Carolina, but didn't give many details. I think I was looking for something that would give me enough information to pick one trail out of them all to visit, but the brief descriptions didn't give me enough to go on. If you already know which trail you want to trek and it is one of the trails covered in the book, you're pretty well set. You will, however, need another map to know exactly how to get to that particular trail...the book has a map with a general location but no specific driving information.

4 out of 5 stars

99.5/100 August 1, 2007
3 out of 5 found this review helpful

This is an excellent resource and planning guide. I have nothing to add to the earlier reviews, most of which are 5 stars.

The lack of GPS coordinates of the trailheads is the one glaring deficiency and the reliance on another map resource is no substitute. The copy edit staff should have done their homework and inserted this information, since it could be done from their desks. It appears instead that they put their efforts into misleading advertising -

"Detailed trail descriptions, and GPS-compatible trail maps"

Nevertheless, I have since purchased extra copies for gifts.

5 out of 5 stars

A Hiking Guide for Hikers by a Hiker July 11, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Mr. Johnson's "Hiking North Carolina" is a guide for hikers by a lifelong hiker in the North Carolina High Country. North Carolina has hundreds of miles of hiking trail, and Randy has hiked most of them himself. The one risk of writing a guide about something you love so much, is to ruin the sense of adventure by including too much information. On the other hand, I have been hiking long enough to remember guides that would allow you to barely find the trailhead, much less give you good information about the trail and what you will encounter. There is a fine balance between a guide that tells too much, like the Appalachian Trail guides, and a guide that says too little, like some I see in popular magazines. I believe that Mr. Johnson's guide strikes a good balance between the two; telling you what you need to know while preserving the sense of adventure in the experience. It's the adventure that draws us into the woods after all. I recommend this guide for anyone who is interested in hiking in the state. His maps are quite detailed and well drawn, and his trail descriptions are enough to get you where you want to go without spoiling the fun of discovery. It is an excellent work and well worth including in your outdoor library.

Robert Branch
Burnsville, NC

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