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Don't Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies: The Opinionated Hiking Guide
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Average Rating:  out of 19 Reviews
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Price: $39.95
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Sale: $26.37
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Manufacturer: Hikingcamping.com
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EAN (European Article Number): 9780968941973
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Number of Items: 1
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Binding: Paperback
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Author: Kathy Copeland::craig Copeland
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Publisher: Hikingcamping.com
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Edition: 5
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Dewey Decimal Number: 796.52209711
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Publication Date: 2004-07
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Reading Level: 539
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Description: This all-new, fifth edition describes 138 dayhikes and backpack trips in Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, Yoho, and Waterton national parks, as well as Mt. Robson and Assiniboine provincial parks. Here’s the discerning advice you need to create rewarding adventures. This guide rates and reviews trips as Premier, Outstanding, Worthwhile, or Don’t Do. 260 colour photos reveal this stunning wilderness. Trail maps for each trip enhance the comprehensive route descriptions
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Customer Reviews
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Review Summary: Superb guide for planning a vacation |
Date: 2008-02-03 |
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Details: If you're planning an itinerary in the Canadian Rockies and are looking for the best trails for you, this book is perfect. Rather than describe individual trails, it helpfully groups them into "trips". (If you have to hike 20 miles along a boring trail to get to another fabulous trail, the whole trip isn't as fabulous.)
This new edition includes color photos showing many trails' incredible beauty, as well as basic maps that show how the trails link together. You'll probably want to buy a real trail map, but if you're hundreds of miles away planning a trip, the maps in this book are incredibly helpful at figuring out where you might want to hike. Since both long and short trails are included, we also used it during our trip to see where we should stop along the road for a quick gorgeous hike. We had a wonderful vacation using this book. |
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Review Summary: excellent guide to the Canadian Rockies |
Date: 2007-08-26 |
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Details: I purchased this book to research where the best above-timberline scenery and scrambles would be in Banff and Jasper, and was not disappointed. I can't remember ever seeing a better guidebook -- some in the same league, like J. Gordon Edwards' book, but not a better one. Usually, the lack of good color photos is the major drawback to guidebooks, but the number and quality of the photos in this book is amazing, and the text is really helpful in getting a feel for what the place is like, above and beyond the simple mileages. Even if you're not hiking there soon, this is a great armchair book.
I might have rated this book only as 4 stars, due only to lack of topographic maps... but on reflection, if you're going to be out hiking, you'll be carrying topographic maps with you anyway, not an entire hiking book, so that's not really a drawback.
I noticed that one review compared this book unfavorably with Brian Patton's "Canadian Rockies Trail Guide." The latter is also an excellent book (I have both the 8th and a previous edition), but is more "factual" and less opinionated in tone, has black and white rather than color photos, and doesn't attempt to compare quality of trails with each other. Both that book and this one are very good (I have both and they complement each other), but the color photos and willingness to venture opinions (and just plain enthusiasm) are among the strong points of the Copelands' book. Highly recommended. |
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Review Summary: Best hiking guide for the Canadain Rockies |
Date: 2007-08-07 |
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Details: I purchased 5 or 6 books on the subject and this is far and away the best guide. Very detailed, reliable and practical info, basic maps in the back with references to Gem Trek topo maps for each hike. Definitely worth the price. Don't waste your time or money on other references. The book is a bit dense and heavy to carry, but (as the authors point out), just make copies of what you need and leave the rest at home! |
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Review Summary: Not a waste of time at all. |
Date: 2007-06-04 |
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Details: This was almost the only guide we consulted when my sister and I hiked trails in eastern BC and Alberta in 2005. I say "almost" because we also looked up schedules for the Canadian railways. You see, one of our cranky specifications on the trip was that we would not drive anywhere, nor would we fly into or within Canada. Our goal was to see only those trails and towns within reach of the railroad tracks. We succeeded marvelously and could probably have done just as well had we used only the Copelands' books. Apparently they too are train-and-hike aficionados. |
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Review Summary: Excellent Guide, and Service! |
Date: 2007-03-04 |
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Details: Review of FIFTH EDITION (published July 2006)... I originally ordered this book through Amazon, but after not shipping for more than a month I decided to order it directly from the Authors. I was pleasantly surprised to have my email answered within a few hours, and to receive a phone call from Kathy Copeland shortly afterwards. As I was awaiting for the book to arrive, I had several email exchanges with Kathy, in which she freely gave hiking suggestions for Glacier NP, and answered specific questions. Before even seeing the book, it became obvious to me that the authors have great satisfaction in experiencing great hikes, and perhaps greater satisfaction in helping others have the same experience (something I can really relate to, and the very qualities you want in the author of a hiking book). With that quality of service, I had great anticipated the arrival of their book. I was not disappointed.
While the writing style is unique (interesting, humorous, whatever), make no mistake about it-- the book is "COMMON SENSE" to the core, both in content and in it's organization. And it follows the "golden rule"-- the authors provide exactly the kind of information that they (and most hikers) would want if they were to purchase a hiking book. The emphasis in rating hikes is primarily placed upon the WOW-factor of the hike (i.e. how much does this hike STIMULATE me scenically, be it through sweeping vistas, lush meadows, iridescent lakes,... whatever). Distances and elevations are specified in both English (miles/ft) and metric (km/m)... for those of you in the US who have never spent hours converting figures in a hiking book published in Canada, believe me, this is something to be VERY thankful for!
The beginning of the book includes a "Trip Locations" section-- overview maps of the various national parks, dotted with trail numbers, and on the same/opposite page they list names of the hikes and their rating (Premier, Outstanding, Worthwhile, Don't do). So the hikes are arranged visually by park location.
Shortly afterward, a "Dayhikes at a Glance" section arranges the hikes by rating (Premier's listed first, then Outstanding,...etc.), first for the dayhikes, then the backpacking trips. These tables also show distance and elevation gains. This is precisely the kind of information you need to plan a trip. An index of the very best "Wildflower Hikes" is a nice touch.
The introduction section(s) also cover all the standards you typically would expect (i.e. preparation, weather, bears, trail ethics,...etc.).
The back of the book includes a "Trip Maps" section-- these are not topo maps (which are generally useless tiny black/white photocopies in hiking books anyway), but appear to take the form of sketches, though apparently done using computer software. The maps do not illustrate 3-dimensional relief (i.e. valleys, ridges, mountains), but everything is clearly named: the path of the trail(s) shown in red, the lakes/rivers in blue, mountain peaks as black triangles, and parking/trailheads as black circles. The scale is also shown. The inclusion of distances and elevations (which is included in the individual hike overviews) would have made the maps perfect for a hiking book, but they fall short in this area (improvement project for the next edition?)
The individual hikes are very logically arranged. First, all of the day-hikes are listed in one section, followed by another section listing the backpacking (extended) hikes. VERY helpful if you mostly day-hike (as e do), or mostly backpacks. Within each of these sections, the authors list the Premier hikes first (ordered geographically as you move northwest through the Canadian Rockies), followed by all the Outstanding hikes,....etc. VERY helpful in identifying what hikes should be at the top of the itinerary. The description of each hike first includes the authors "Opinion", followed by all of the "Facts". Again, VERY helpful, because when facts/opinions are combined (as with most hiking books), you have to wade through all the factual info to get the opinions (i.e. determine if the hike is worth doing). Likewise, when you want to get the facts, you sometimes have to wade through opinions. Keeping them separate was a smart decision.
Each hike begins with a table which lists: Location, Round Trip Distance(s), Elevation Gain(s), Key Elevations, Hiking Time, Difficulty, and Maps (pg on which map is found, and specific topo map which can be purchased).
Nearly all hikes include a sizable color picture(s) of the most scenic portion(s) of the hike-- exactly what you would want to see. The opinionated descriptions describe exactly what makes this hike appealing, the degree to which it has appeal, and if unappealing, then suggested alternatives in the vicinity. VERY well done.
Suggested improvements? I think the authors place a heavy emphasis upon solitude, but for a significant number of people, this is not nearly as important as the scenic splendor. Yet, some hikes may have slipped a notch in the rating scale because of their heavy use. It would be helpful if hikes of this nature were denoted with a special symbol of some sort, both in the overview tables and in the table which introduces the individual hikes. To their credit, the authors frequently mention (in the Opinion section) which hikes see heavy usage, but a prominent visual cue indicating that the hike was demoted a rating level (for lack of solitude) would make an excellently arranged book even better.
I also own Grame Pole's book "Classic Hikes in the Canadian Rockies" (1999 edition). While this is one of my better hiking books (I own about a dozen), the Copeland's book is better in a variety of ways. If you want multiple opinions, buy both. If you want just one, then "Don't waste your..." money on anything other than Copeland's book: "Don't waste your time in the Canadian Rockies". |
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