Don't
Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies
The Opinionated Hiking Guide
by Kathy & Craig Copeland
Owner Review by Andrea Murland
October 31, 2014
Tester Information
Name: |
Andrea Murland |
Email: |
amurland AT
shaw DOT ca |
Age: |
29 |
Location: |
Elkford
& Kimberley,
British Columbia, Canada |
Gender: |
Female |
Height: |
5 ft 2 in (1.57
m) |
Weight: |
130 lb (59 kg) |
Image Courtesy of hikingcamping.com
|
I began hiking frequently in 2006 and have
since hiked in Western Canada, Australia, and spent 2 months
backpacking in the Alps. I spend most weekends either day-hiking or on
2-3 day backpacking trips, with some longer trips when I can manage
them. I also snowshoe and ski in the winter, but don’t have a lot of
experience with winter in the backcountry yet. Elevation is typically
500-3,000 m (1,600-10,000 ft), in the Canadian Rockies and the Selkirk,
Purcell, and Monashee ranges. I try for a light pack, but I don’t
consider myself a lightweight backpacker.
Product
Information
Title: |
Don’t Waste
Your Time in the Canadian Rockies: The Opinionated Hiking Guide |
Authors: |
Kathy &
Craig Copeland |
Publisher: |
hikingcamping.com, inc. |
Publisher's
URL: |
www.hikingcamping.com
|
Published: |
2009 |
Edition: |
6th |
ISBN: |
978-0-9783427-5-3 |
MSRP: |
CAD 37.00 |
Measured Size: |
21.7 cm x 14.1
cm x 2.54 cm (8.5 in x 5.6 in x 1.0 in) |
Measured
Weight: |
802 g (28.3 oz) |
Pages: |
544 |
Description
“Don’t Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies” is a full-colour hiking
guide focused on the National Parks in the Canadian Rocky Mountains:
Jasper, Banff, Yoho, Kootenay, and Waterton Lakes National Parks. The
book also has hikes in a couple of Provincial Parks which border the
National Parks. 138 hikes are detailed in this book, and each is rated
as “Premier”, “Outstanding”, “Worthwhile”, or “Don’t Do”. The hike
ratings are based primarily on the scenic value of the trip. The higher
rated trips have the most spectacular scenery, and sustained views
throughout the hike. As the rating decreases, the views either become
less stunning, or for a shorter portion of the hike, or both.
Field
Conditions
I have hiked fifteen of the 138 hikes in this book (I have some work to
do…). I usually photocopy the pages that I need for a hike I’m doing,
as the book is rather heavy to carry. The book is standing up to the
abuse of being tossed around the car and campsite reasonably well
though, with only a few dog-eared pages.
Layout
The organization of this guidebook centers around each hike being
assigned a “trip number”. The hikes are organized in the book in order
of rating, with dayhikes coming earlier in the book, followed by
backpacking trips, and finally shoulder-season trips. Within each of
these categories the hikes are listed with the “Premier” hikes coming
first and the “Don’t Do” hikes coming last.
The book starts with a series of overview maps, showing each park and
the hikes within it. The map shows the numbers of the hikes, and a list
on the side has each hike listed with its trip number (matching the
map), and rating.
Overview Map for Waterton Lakes
|
The next main section that’s of use is called “Trips At a Glance”. This
listing has the hikes in the order in which they appear in the book,
and each line lists the trip number, the hike name, the round trip
distance, and the elevation gain. The rating of the hike is shown in a
heading before that section of the list. This list does not show the
page number that a hike can be found on; all navigation is done by trip
number.
Part of "Trips at a Glance"
|
The last part of the introduction includes some information on reasons
why some hikes have been excluded from the book, good rainy-day hikes,
permits, wildlife, and hiking safety.
The main part of the book, the hike descriptions, start with dayhikes,
then move to backpacking trips and finally shoulder season hikes. Each
description starts with a box of useful information, as follows:
- Location
- Round Trip Distance
- Elevation Gain
- Key Elevations
- Hiking Time
- Difficulty (easy/moderate/challenging)
- Maps (page of Trip Map, topo map sheets, Park maps)
Following the box is an “Opinion” section, which contains a variety of
information, depending on the hike. It usually indicates why a hike has
been given the rating it has, either through gushing about the scenery
or informing the reader that there is a long, relatively boring section
to the hike. It may give some local history, some information about the
trail, the destination, and the views. This section is why this book is
called an “Opinionated Guide”. After the “Opinion” section is a “Fact”
section. Driving
directions are listed first, and give directions to the trailhead, with
distances, from major landmarks. Trail directions are listed next, and
include not only directions required to successfully navigate the hike,
but also information (and often elevations and distances) for key
points, like ridges, saddles, and viewpoints. This section often
comments on the type of forest, interesting landscape features, and
what features can be seen in the views.
Helen Lake Hike Description
|
At the end of the book, there is a section of Trip Maps. These maps are
very general, with no topographical features. They show the general
location of trails and major landmarks, but not much else.
Trip Map
|
My
Thoughts
I love the ratings in this book. There are a lot of hiking options in
the Rockies, and the opinions of the authors here can help me narrow
down the hikes that I want to do first, since I have a limited time to
hike in the areas (I don’t live very close to most of them). If a hike
with a lower rating catches my interest anyway, reading the description
of the hike will tell me why it was assigned a lower rating, and if I
don’t mind, for example, a long slog through steep forest, at least I
won’t be surprised by it on the hike.
I like the “Trips at a Glance” pages and overview maps of the parks, as
they allow me to look at what hikes are in an area I’m interested in
and then quickly get a sense of whether any of those hikes fall into
the distance or elevation targets I’m looking for. Once I’ve narrowed
down the field of hikes, the boxes at the start of each description can
tell me a few more details to narrow it down further before reading the
full descriptions.
I have never gotten lost while trying to find a trailhead or while on a
trail. That’s a good thing! Granted, most of these trails, being in the
National Parks, are pretty well marked, or at least well-travelled and
easy to find. I find the difficulty ratings of the hikes and the
expected hiking time to be pretty accurate. I usually fall on the lower
end of the times, which is typical for me and guidebooks.
While this book does have a variety of overview maps, none of them
offers any topographical details that would make them even the
slightest
bit useful for even basic navigation. I certainly don’t expect maps
which would replace a full topographical map, but even a few contour
lines would help to see where in a hike most of the elevation gain is,
for example.
I love the beautiful, full-colour photos taken by the authors and
included in the book. They’re stunning!
Helen Lake/Cirque Peak Hike (these are my photos)
|
Summary
“Don’t Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies” is an “Opinionated
Hiking Guide” which offers not only the factual details about the hikes
described, but also the authors’ opinions about the scenery and the
quality of the hike. This helps this guidebook stand out amongst the
many books about hiking in the Canadian Rockies National Parks.
Thumbs Up:
Accurate hiking and driving details
Opinion ratings
Layout is easy to browse while planning
Beautiful photos
Thumbs Down:
No contour lines on maps
No page numbers, just trip numbers used on “Trips at a Glance” page
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|