Reviews for Day and Overnight Hikes in West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest

The average rating for Day and Overnight Hikes in West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-04-11 00:00:00 Robert Stanley This is a book to own if you're a hiker in Southern California. Each of the 100 hikes features a description of the area (including the flora and fauna) as well as a slimmed down version of its history. There is a section on traveling to the trailhead(s), what to look for as markers, and how to return. The details help; the author tells you where it's rocky, where climbing is necessary, where the fresh-water springs are, et cetera. The author also is quite helpful in giving you all the alternative routes to a given peak or the ways of return. The book lists the mileage, the elevation gain/loss, the difficulty level, the seasonality of the hike, and tells you which topo map to obtain. I've done a number of these hikes so far and I verify the accuracy of the material. What is not listed is whether the trail is acceptable for dogs or bikes (important if you'd like to avoid either) and the popularity of the location (also significant for hikers who hate crowds), although sometimes crowds are mentioned in the description. Despite what's not included, the hikes listed will get you motivated. I love how some hikes show a photograph from times gone by (1930 Mount Wilson Hotel or Ye Alpine Tavern, Mount Lowe Railway in 1914). I live on the coast - and many of these trails are one, two, sometimes three hours away - but if I get up in the dark I can drive the highways in relative solitude and be hiking by 7. I feel so lucky to have the ocean in front of me and the mountains within traveling distance. If you live close to the San Gabriel Mountains and the Angeles National Forest, this is a must have book.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-04-15 00:00:00 Steve Tremblay Having spent the last 10 years exploring the mountains above los Angeles I found the historical context of the trails and outposts described in this book a delight. It makes you feel proud of the natural resources and a responsibility to care for the limited wilderness areas that are left. The trail system has steadily recovered from the station fire and the book makes not of this. The 2013 version which I read is still surprisingly accurate even though, as the book states, 3 years of unchecked growth can take a well-maintained trail to impassable. An update by 2023 will most certainly be necessary. But the book gives you the info necessary to explore and begin researching possible routes that exist. I think the real value of the book is understanding the heritage of the current trail system and how access to the wilderness areas has changed the way we experience these alpine haunts.