Home > Media > Books > Steven D. Smith - Appalachian Mountain Club Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide: AMC Guide to Hiking Mts. Monadnock, Cardigan, Kearsarge, and the Lakes Region
Steven D. Smith - Appalachian Mountain Club Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide: AMC Guide to Hiking Mts. Monadnock, Cardigan, Kearsarge, and the Lakes Region
jps246's Full Review: Steven D. Smith - Appalachian Mountain Club Southe...
Like all of the other AMC guidebooks, the Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide is is an extensive and exhaustive review of hiking trails open to the public throughout the southern half of New Hampshire.
Southern New Hampshire – isn’t that like Manchester and Concord?
Caught in the shadow of the White Mountains and other high mountain ranges to the north, southern New Hampshire offers an extensive trail network in several different areas. Best of all, these areas are significantly closer for residents in southern New England and people in New Hampshire’s southern regions. You get the New Hampshire experience without quite so much travel. You won’t find areas above treeline or highly technical climbing like you might on Mount Washington, but there are plenty of interesting and enjoyable hikes in southern New Hampshire and even though you might think otherwise, there’s plenty of forest and quiet areas down there.
The Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide covers the following areas:
- The Monadnock Region
- Cardigan and Kearsarge
- The Merrimack Valley
- The Lakes Region
- Southeastern New Hampshire
Haven’t I see those trails somewhere else?
If you are wondering, AMC’s White Mountain Guide does cover all these areas. If you already have that book, there’s no need to get a copy of this book because the Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide really just covers a subset of the trails in the White Mountain Guide which includes trail descriptions for all of New Hampshire’s trails.
What you get in the book
Throughout the five chapters (the ones up above), trail descriptions for each trail practically go into minute detail about the hike. The major features that you will come across along the trail are described - as are steep pitches, trail junctions, side trails and more. The trail descriptions read as if they were written as someone was walking the trails, they are that accurate and detailed. The descriptions also contain information on the vertical elevation you will be gaining and losing on the hike, the mileage for each trail and an estimated trip time for that trail.
The book comes with the Appalachian Mountain Club’s maps for the Monadnock and Cardigan regions. There is a single map with each area on one side. The map is made out of waterproof and rip-proof paper. The map is kept in a small flap at the back of the book. The map is quite detailed for the areas. They show all of the trails along with the locations of all the trailheads and provide enough information surrounding the mountains that you can use the maps to get to the various areas from the main roads and highways. Because the two included foldout maps do not cover all the areas described, the book contains several maps in the sections devoted to that area. The page maps include Pisgah State Park, Bear Brook State Park and Pawtuckaway State Park.
Past the trail descriptions you find a blank accident report form (should you get into trouble in the woods – this will help during the rescue) and information on the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC).
As with all AMC guidebooks the Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide contains one of the best indexes I’ve ever seen comes up. This index is indispensable for find various trails and mountains. Have a mountain name but no trail name, no problem, have part of a trail name, no problem. The index literally references everything in this book.
Who should get this book?
I actually purchased it without realized that the White Mountain Guide already had the same trails, but I use the Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide frequently as a standalone book when I will just be hiking in Southern New Hampshire. The included page maps are also useful as they are not found in the White Mountain Guide.
If you haven’t gotten a copy of the White Mountain Guide and your hiking will be limited to the southern New Hampshire area, the Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide is the ultimate and indispensable guide to the region’s various trails. If you’ve already got the White Mountain Guide the trails reviewed in this book are already included and there isn’t much reason to purchase this book, unless you want a separate book for just the southern New Hampshire region.
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