Book reviews

Small stream fly fishing is not a glamorous sport and it’s difficult to brag about the bite-size 6″ trout that you catch at the company picnic. But the satisfaction that comes from fishing an undiscovered virgin trout stream that’s never been fished before …

The Last Traverse by Ty Gagne should be required reading by anyone who wants to hike the White Mountain 4000 footers or any other mountains in winter. Gagne, who also wrote “Where You’ll Find Me: Risk, Decisions, and the Last Climb of …

If you’re a fly fisherman, John Gierach’s name will be a familiar one. The author of many fly fishing books including: All Fishermen are Liars Trout Bum No Shortage of Good Days Even Brook Trout Get the Blues Gierach’s amusing and witty …

Backpacking hammocks are a great alternative to camping in a tent in the right conditions but there’s a steep learning curve to gearing up and learning how to be comfortable across a wide range of temperatures. While you can educate yourself about …

The 52 With a View is a Peakbagging List that features some of the best views available from New Hampshire’s mountaintops. This new guidebook (New Hampshire’s 52 With a View) is the first definitive guidebook for the list that and written by …

Mountain climbers from around the world come to Mt Washington and the White Mountain’s Presidential Range to train for major expeditions to the great mountain ranges of the world. The steep terrain, cold temperatures, high winds, and abundant snowfall provide climbers with …

The Appalachian Mountain Club’s White Mountain Guide is the hiker’s bible for planning day hikes and backpacking trips in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest. People come from all around the world to hike, backpack, climb and train for mountaineering expeditions in …

The 1400+ mile trail network in New Hampshire’s White Mountains National Forest is absolutely world-class. But it probably wouldn’t exist if it hadn’t been for the logging companies that stripped much of the 800,000 acre White Mountain region of timber in the …

Thirst by Heather “Anish” Anderson is a wonderfully written memoir, rich in autobiographical detail, about her record-setting fastest known thru-hike (FKT) of the Pacific Crest Trail. The audible version (6 hrs) is also very well narrated and a real treat to listen …

I have been fascinated by the construction and development of the White Mountain Hiking Trail System, with its 1400+ miles of hiking trails, ever since I walked the Westside Trail on Mt Washington, an alpine trail where huge rocks from the surrounding …

I’ve never met Cam Honan in person, but I think we’d hit it off if our paths ever do cross. He’s an exceptionally well-travelled backpacker who’s walked across 56 countries and 6 continents, he can write well, and he visits a lot …

While the White Mountains have a reputation for being very hardcore, they are in fact very accessible for hikers and adventurers of all levels of ability. If this is a region you’d like to learn about more for family adventures and recreational …

The Maine Mountain Guide is the hiker’s bible for the mountains and hiking trails of Maine. It provides detailed descriptions of more than 625 trails, on 300 mountains, totaling close to 1500 trail miles in length, ranging from easy woodland strolls to …

A lot of us pride ourselves on having a lightweight backpacking gear list coupled and the advanced hiking skills that make it possible to replace extra gear with experience and know-how. But how far are you willing to push the gear vs. …