e-Book New Jersey Walk Book: A companion to the New York Walk Book download

My husband asked for this NJ Walk Book for Christmas. It was hard to find in stores, then I saw a used copy in almost perfect condition on Amazon. It came true to its word and he was so happy to get it and start using it on some new hikes.

Dated and limited in scope, I was disappointed in the lack of detailed information and the fact that the book only addressed a portion of northern new jersey.

The New York Walk book, first published in 1923, is now in its 7th edition, and still garnering favorable reviews. Despite its noble name, it doesn't cover the greatest part of New York State; a more accurate name would be something like: "New York Walk Book; walks and hikes within two hours of New York City". There is nothing about the Finger Lakes, Western New York or the Adirondacks: "Encompassing one-third of the total land area of New York State, the Adirondack Park is unique in the United States. Within its boundaries are vast forests and rolling farmlands, towns and villages, mountains and valleys, lakes, ponds and free-flowing rivers, private lands and public forest."

Nonetheless, this is a wonderful guide to the regions it does cover. This review from "The New York Tiimes" is valuable as a historical record:

May 19, 1998

Hiker's Bible Changes With God's Country; Latest 'New York Walk Book' Chronicles Nature's Losses and Surprising Gains

By GLENN COLLINS

It was a ''noble gift,'' ''a kind of country club for the recreation of the educated and refined.'' That was the lyrical description of the rustic 13-mile Salt Hill hike in Upper Westchester, as celebrated in 1923 in the first edition of the ''New York Walk Book,'' the hiker's bible for the metropolitan region.

There is no mention of the Salt Hill route in the new edition of the ''Walk Book.'' A hiker today seeking the path to that noble promontory would find it hemmed in on one side by suburban homes -- fenced, blacktopped, tennis-courted and chlorine-pooled -- and on another by ''No Trespassing'' signs posted on New York City watershed property. A trek eastward would mean running the six-lane gantlet of the Taconic State Parkway.

But just a few miles north of the old Salt Hill hike, the new volume outlines a route the book had never described before. The newly created Camp Smith Trail, the ''Walk Book'' notes, offers a ''serious ascent'' up Manitou Mountain and glorious views of the Hudson and the surrounding hills.

It is no revelation that development has relentlessly whittled away at the region's wilderness. But the sixth edition of the hiking guide, the first update in 14 years, tells a more complex and surprising story -- and offers lovers of the outdoors some good news as well.

Even as broad swaths of woods and meadows have disappeared, other areas have been made accessible for the first time by new trails or the public acquisition of land. Just as the recent overhaul of the venerable ''Joy of Cooking'' reflects the changing culinary landscape, the evolution of the ''Walk Book'' traces the shifting boundaries of the region's wilderness.

''The history of the 'Walk Book' is also a history of the region,'' said Jane Daniels, the editor of the sixth edition, as she hiked up the new trail in Cortlandt.

The book has long been revered for its lyrical prose and its cozy original line sketches by Dr. Robert L. Dickinson. The new edition, which offers the Dickinson originals as well as new evocations by contemporary artists, describes the history, geology, flora and fauna of more than 1,000 miles of hiking trails within a two-hour driving distance from Manhattan, ranging up to the Catskills and the southern Taconics.

Certainly much has changed in the 75 years since the first edition advised ladies to wear detachable skirts over their breeches, since ''city or country yokels may stare.'' Hikers lament that the encroachment of civilization has cost the Three-Notch Trail near Cold Spring two of its components; now it is just the Notch Trail. Even the famous Long Path, going north from the George Washington Bridge, is a not-so-long-path these days: it has lost land in Orange County to private ownership, and access to High Tor Mountain has been closed.

But the sixth edition also celebrates the $55 million state purchase of the 15,800-acre privately owned Sterling Forest, which had been threatened by contractors' bulldozers. For the first time the ''Walk Book'' has been able to list Sterling Forest trails, which were privately patrolled and blocked to hikers for seven months a year but are now open year-round.

Other new routes include the Rockefeller State Park Preserve in North Tarrytown; the Undercliff Trail north of Cold Spring, and the Howell and Bobcat Trails in Storm King State Park.

Also new in this edition are chapters on Dutchess County and on mountain ecology, along with updated information on geological formations, historical sights and revised regional maps. And there is detailed new travel information for hikers who depend on public transportation.

So abundant is the roll call of new trails that for the first time the book has undergone literary mitosis: a separate, 300-page volume, ''The New Jersey Walk Book,'' will be issued this fall.

''Many people have a preconceived notion of this region as being urban and overdeveloped, and so they find it shocking that there is so much wilderness within two hours of Manhattan,'' said JoAnn Dolan, executive director of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, the nonprofit consortium of hiking organizations that has doggedly updated the book while building and maintaining hiking trails in the region. ''I don't know if I will ever be able to hike all the trails that we maintain.''

The cohort of trail users in the region is growing apace with these new routes. Since hikers don't pass through turnstiles in the woods, there is no official count of their numbers, but membership in the Trail Conference itself has doubled over the last 10 years to 9,500 -- a number the organization estimates to be only 5 percent of the region's hikers.

Total visitors, including hikers, were up 6 percent during the last five years to 8.68 million in the 24 outdoor areas administered by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission in New York and New Jersey, including Bear Mountain and Harriman State Parks.

''Elders, singles and whole families are taking to the trails now,'' Ms. Dolan said. ''Hiking is a low-impact activity, so we're seeing a growing number of runners and others who were injured in other sports. Baby boomers' very active aging style is increasing the number of hikers, and empty-nesters are finding that they now have time to head for the woods.''

Such demographics hardly seemed significant during a recent hike on the Camp Smith Trail, as Mrs. Daniels and six other contributors to the new book charged up a stairway of million-year-old granite. At their backs, the Hudson River trended its way to the sea. Beyond, the great brooding bulk of Dunderberg Mountain frowned to the west.

''We moved the rocks and the dirt in 90-degree weather,'' Mrs. Daniels said, recalling the building of the stairway. ''It took us eight working days.''

The entire route took three years of volunteer effort to build. The path rises 1,100 feet in 3.7 miles, beginning at Route 6-202 on the east side of the Hudson across from Bear Mountain south of the bridge.

The trail surged upward and soon the hikers were balancing on the top of the Knife Edge, a steeply plunging rock face. As she threaded the ridge, Mrs. Daniels reflected on the effort that went into the new ''Walk Book.'' ''You approach such a classic book with much trepidation,'' she said. ''We really did want to preserve the spirit of the beautiful writing.''

For example, the 1923 version refers to the region's hiking movement as ''an ozone revival that fits the growth of our desire,'' and describes hiking as ''the wholesale cure for the hustle complex of chronic Americanitis'' in its introduction.

''But you can't treat it as sacred text, because so much of it is outdated,'' said her husband, Walt. ''It really needed to be revised.''

The ''Walk Book,'' published originally by the National Geographic Society and in later editions by Doubleday, has now been self-published for the first time by the Trail Conference. The softcover, 412-page volume, with 28 pages of maps and full-color geological charts, sells for $19.95 in bookstores or through the Trail Conference, which maintains a brochure-rich office in Manhattan.

Mrs. Daniels, who is head of reference services at the Nyack Library, devoted hundreds of hours to the book, but was unpaid, like all of the 80 writing, editing and trail-checking volunteers. ''They'll give her a free 'Walk Book' if she's lucky,'' her husband said with a laugh.

Far above the trail, a turkey vulture caught an updraft and wheeled in a trans-Hudson parabola toward Iona Island, a strategic defense post during the Revolutionary War. As the hikers headed relentlessly upward, Christian Lenz Cesar, an I.B.M. computer scientist, noted that the authors of the new edition had ''left out the mosquitoes,'' as well as the squalls, the snowstorms, and, well, the wildlife.

John and Karen Magerlein, who worked on the book's East Hudson chapters, once encountered a rattlesnake on Schunemunk Mountain. Gail Neffinger, who worked on the Long Path sections, recalled an encounter with a poisonous copperhead on Canada Hill near the Appalachian Trail. ''He lives under a rock,'' Dr. Neffinger said.

The hikers stopped to take in the vastness of Two Pines View, a scenic wonder framing a postcard vista of the Hudson. ''A lot of people think that these routes were created by the Trail Fairy, the second cousin of the Tooth Fairy,'' Mrs. Daniels said, smiling. ''I can assure you, there is no Trail Fairy. It's just us.''

Finally the group began descending Wasp Wall, a path down a craggy granite slope that got its nickname ''because that's where the trail leader grabbed for a tree and walked into a hornet's nest,'' Mr. Daniels said.

Now that the ''New York Walk Book'' is revised, and the New Jersey edition is expected, what next?

''Time to think about the seventh edition,'' Mrs. Daniels said. ''After all, there are those new trails on Schunemunk that didn't make it into the sixth edition.'' She sighed. ''The trails don't stop changing just because the 'Walk Book' is out.''

A Walker's Companion in 1923, and Now

Excerpts from the first edition, 1923:

''For protection against rain, pure rubber clothing is about the only reliable material; but in warm weather or after exertion it is uncomfortably hot. . . .''

''Boots or stout leggings will save many a bruised shin or ankle or torn stocking and trouser leg. Breeches for women, long worn in the Western outing clubs, are becoming more in vogue in the East and sensibly so. There are combinations of breeches with detachable skirts which are convenient for travel to and from the country or where city or country yokels may stare. . . .''

''A pack on the back is bound to cause heavy perspiration and wetting between the shoulder blades. Reed frames have been devised to hold the pack off the back and give circulation or air. . . .''

''Paper is as effective a protection against wind as leather, and many trampers regard a paper waistcoat, costing 50 cents, as indispensable for blustery weather. . . .''

''If you are ever out with Malcomson he will introduce his big Bermuda onion. You will crave a thick slice and you will never go tramping again without one. It adds horse power to one's legs after luncheon. . . .''

Excerpts from the new sixth edition, 1998:

''Be prepared for wet weather, whatever the season. Wool and some synthetics such as polypropylene provide warmth when wet. . . .''

''At a minimum, hiking boots should provide water resistance, ankle support, and a nonslip sole. For protection against blisters, wear heavy padded socks (such as wool) over light liner socks that can wick away moisture. . . .''

''For day hikes, bring your own water in a plastic bottle, such as bottled water purchased from a store. Fill a Nalgene bottle (available from camping supply stores) with tap water from home. . . .''

''In cold weather, layering is especially important. Wear your hiking clothes in several thin layers. Begin with a light garment next to your skin, such as polypropylene, that will wick away moisture and keep you dry. Add a warm shirt and/or sweater, depending on the conditions in which you will be hiking. Colder weather may warrant wool pants or long underwear and a long-sleeved wool or synthetic shirt. . . .''

''It is also a good idea to carry cash, a check, or a credit card, in case you need them for an emergency upon leaving the trail. . . .''

Photos: From left, Walter and Jane Daniels, John Magerlein and his son, Thomas, hike the Camp Smith Trail in Westchester. (pg. B1); Christian Lenz Cesar, left, and Walter Daniels on the Camp Smith Trail in upper Westchester. Mr. Cesar noted that the revised ''New York Walk Book'' mentioned the new trail, but ''left out the mosquitoes.'' (Chris Maynard for The New York Times)(pg. B8)

This book is for anyone who has any intention of hiking anywhere in NY. From Long Island to Harriman to the Catskills to the Adirondacks, this book gives detailed descriptions on walks throughout all sorts of terrain. Each chapter has a brief history of the area so you really feel as though you are experiencing surroundings to the fullest. Plus, it is published by the New York/New Jersey Trail Conference which is apparently the premier source for information and maintainers of trails in the area. They also take suggestions so if you find some important detail missing from one of the trail reviews, you can write to the conference and give them your input. To make a long story short, I wouldn't go hiking anywhere in NY without this book.

This book is a great. I've used it a number of times, and consider it one of my favorite outdoor guides to NJ. It tells you everything you need to know about a variety of trails: who uses the trail (mountain bikes, horses, hiking-only, etc.), directions to get to the trail, and where you can park (if that isn't obvious). If you are just starting-out exploring "Outdoor New Jersey" you cannot be without this book.