Do you update your ADK guidebook collection?

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  • Grey-Jay
    Member
    • Dec 2003
    • 832

    #1

    Do you update your ADK guidebook collection?

    I used to have a goal of purchasing every book revision to both the Discover the Adirondacks series and the ADK Club books. Looking at the latest editions however, it just seems that so little changes from one edition to another. While significant trailhead or trail changes are usually covered, the main body of content for most trails has remained the same for decades. I realize that it would be impractical to re-write entire books, and historical content need not change. But some of the little tidbits of info could sure use updating. As an example, there are some trail descriptions in the Discover series that state, "at the leanto, coyote may be heard at night, or a barred-owl might be seen along a certain section of the trail, etc." But these words first appeared 25 years ago and have never changed! Do we think that the same Barred Owl the author saw 25 years ago is still on that branch?

    In summary, it might be more incentive to purchase revisions if more content were updated and not just trail closings, parking lot changes, etc. Especially in teh Discover series, the more interesting nature and visual info that perhaps Barbara first wonderfully shared with us, at some point needs a new set of eyes.

    Any thoughts?
  • redhawk
    Senior Resident Curmudgeon
    • Jan 2004
    • 10929

    #2
    Personally I find no need to "stay current" with the guidebooks, getting every new revision.

    Every 25 years or so maybe, especially in areas where slides or blowdowns are more prevalent.

    Since I depend on them mostly for a synopsis of what to expect as opposed to a navigational tool (I once saw someone hiking with their nose stuck in an adk guide) they remain descriptive enough for my purposes over the years.

    Actually I prefer having some of the older books so that I can compare the changes over the years. Kind of like my fascination with old maps. I have several of the real early ADK guides when Barbara McMartin was doing the Southern Adirondacks for them prior to her "Discovering the Adirondacks" series.
    "If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it." Lyndon B. Johnson

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    • lumberzac
      Beware of the Lumberzac
      • Apr 2004
      • 1730

      #3
      To be completely honest, I only own one guild book that covers the Adirondacks, the 2002 ADK guide for the Northville-Placid Trail. All the rest of the guidebooks I own are for Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and the Catskills, regions I’m not as familiar with. I tend to study maps more than guides when I hike in the Adirondacks.
      A man needs to believe in something. I believe I'll go hiking.

      http://community.webshots.com/user/lumberzac

      Comment

      • Neil
        Admin

        • May 2004
        • 6129

        #4
        I never use the guide books even though I bought the 2 for the HighPeaks region. I get all the info I need from the forums and a few websites. Sometimes I read the guidebooks AFTER a trip.
        The best, the most successful adventurer, is the one having the most fun.

        Comment

        • redhawk
          Senior Resident Curmudgeon
          • Jan 2004
          • 10929

          #5
          Originally posted by Neil
          Sometimes I read the guidebooks AFTER a trip.
          Right after you unhitch the cart from in FRONT of the horse, right?
          "If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it." Lyndon B. Johnson

          Comment

          • Wldrns
            Member
            • Nov 2004
            • 4602

            #6
            Originally posted by Neil
            ...Sometimes I read the guidebooks AFTER a trip.
            When I do that (all too often) I invariably find I missed something I should have done, like making the choice to go see the pretty pond instead of the mucky one. On the other hand, it gives me a good excuse to go back to expand the experience.
            "Now I see the secret of making the best person, it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth." -Walt Whitman

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            • coolrobc
              Member
              • Jan 2006
              • 321

              #7
              I bring the guidebook along, I tend to forget little details about things, so every so often when I stop to check my map and make sure I know where I am, I would take a look at the guidebook to see if there was something interesting I should look out for in that section of the trail.

              I think updating is a good idea every so often. All in all, the guides are nice, but their certainly not definitive. One good storm can change just about everything about a trail, it's accessibility, views, etc.
              -Rob

              There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot. - Steven Wright

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              • Grey-Jay
                Member
                • Dec 2003
                • 832

                #8
                I was thinking more of the Discover series, not so much as a guidebook one brings in the pack and reads on the trail, as much as entertaining reading when at home. So for example, when it mentions seeing trillium at one spot, an owl at another spot, etc. I enjoy reading this type of book more than a pure trail description as is the ADK books. But since the Discover book series reading has changed little in years, this same entertaining portion of the reading does not entice me to buy the new revisions.

                Comment

                • Kevin
                  **BANNED**
                  • Nov 2003
                  • 5857

                  #9
                  I'm grateful for the guides, but like others I have often missed things because I read the book afterwards. Not very useful being guided from the couch the day after.

                  The adk club guides don't get updated very often, because it's a serious undertaking. So when they do there's quite a bit added/updated/deleted. I like to keep as updated as my wallet allows. It's a piece in the safety puzzle - heading off potential problems before they're problems. Like missing turns on the trail, finding the correct trailheads, etc. All mistakes I've made, in some cases a few times. Almost always avoidable and well documented in the guide.

                  Comment

                  • Neil
                    Admin

                    • May 2004
                    • 6129

                    #10
                    Originally posted by redhawk
                    Right after you unhitch the cart from in FRONT of the horse, right?
                    That's correct. ask you do Why?
                    The best, the most successful adventurer, is the one having the most fun.

                    Comment

                    • Moses Atwood
                      Member
                      • Feb 2005
                      • 144

                      #11
                      Redhawk,
                      If you like old maps, check out this link:



                      They have 100 year old maps of the ADK's. Free.

                      Comment

                      • Hobbitling
                        spring fever
                        • May 2006
                        • 2239

                        #12
                        I mostly use the guides to give me ideas of where to hike. I've found trails I never knew existed. If I didnt have them, how would I find new (to me) trails?
                        He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen came into his dreams.

                        Comment

                        • redhawk
                          Senior Resident Curmudgeon
                          • Jan 2004
                          • 10929

                          #13
                          Originally posted by Moses Atwood
                          Redhawk,
                          If you like old maps, check out this link:



                          They have 100 year old maps of the ADK's. Free.
                          Have downloaded most of the old maps there and pasted them together in Paint Shop pro.

                          Great site,
                          "If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it." Lyndon B. Johnson

                          Comment

                          • redhawk
                            Senior Resident Curmudgeon
                            • Jan 2004
                            • 10929

                            #14
                            Originally posted by hobbitling
                            I mostly use the guides to give me ideas of where to hike. I've found trails I never knew existed. If I didnt have them, how would I find new (to me) trails?
                            Ask Gandalf,

                            Just beware if Sting is glowing.......
                            "If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it." Lyndon B. Johnson

                            Comment

                            • Bill I.
                              Member
                              • Jun 2007
                              • 1587

                              #15
                              A new website is now available for the Discover the Adirondacks guidebooks, http://www.hiketheadirondacks.com. All of the most current editions are available, as is some background information on the Adirondacks and my Cotton Lake Wilderness proposal.

                              In the last couple years I have been making some significant changes to the content of these books--updated information, new routes, new places, better photos, redesigned maps, and some rearrangement of trails and chapters. What I am hoping to produce is a series of guidebooks that when people see them, they will want to drop everything and get out on the trail! That's an affliction I suffer from every day.

                              I am sincerely interested in hearing any feedback people might have about the latest books.

                              Best regards,

                              Bill Ingersoll
                              This website is for sale! hiketheadirondacks.com is your first and best source for all of the information you’re looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, hiketheadirondacks.com has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for!

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