Craig Romano - 100 Classic Hikes WA: Olympic Peninsula / South Cascades / Mount Rainier / Alpine Lakes / Central Cascades / North Cascades / San Juans / Eastern Washington

In this book I have lined up 100 of the finest hikes in Washington. They range in distance and difficultysome short jaunts, others multiday journeysbut all are classics. I have chosen hikes from throughout the statefrom all four corners and everything in betweencapturing the full essence of the state: its diversity of landscapes, from the wild Olympic Coast to the sun-kissed Blue Mountains.

Youll find hikes in our three national parksMount Rainier, Olympic, and North Cascadesand three national monuments: San Juan Islands, Mount St. Helens, and Hanford Reach. There are hikes in one of our national wildlife refuges, several of our state parks and natural resources conservation areas, and other preserves and parks. Some hikes explore many of our thirty-one wilderness areas. Hikes on the Pacific Coast. Hikes on islands. Hikes in the Columbia River Gorge and on the Columbia Plateauand hikes in all of our mountain ranges: Olympics, Cascades, Blues, Kettles, and Selkirks.

Like classic rock, classic literature, and classic film, a classic hike should be a superb representationin this case, of trailscapturing the full essence of our outdoors and outdoor experiences. It should be timelessnot replicated anywhereand the experience should remain indelibly etched in our minds. Washington is a beautiful state with big mountains, big rivers, big lakes, a big coastline, big trees, big animals, and big tracts of public lands traversed by thousands of miles of trailsthe ideal place to find classic hikes.

Since relocating here in 1989, I have made it my mission to hike every trail in the state, and so far I have logged more than 18,000 miles in this quest. I have also made it my mission to share my love of Washingtons natural places and trails with others. I want my fellow citizens to experience the grandeur and redeeming qualities of the natural world, to live healthy lives connected to the outdoorsand a little less connected to gadgets. And I want my fellow citizens, upon becoming familiar with their lands, to help protect them, care for them, and in some cases even expand them. What better way to get acquainted with our natural world than by taking a classic hike?

Throughout this book you will notice hikes classified as legacy hikes. These are hikes that were included in the original 100 Classic Hikes in Washington by Harvey Manning and Ira Spring, published in 1998. Half of the hikes in this book are legacy hikesand still classic today. Watch for this legacy icon indicating which hikes (with updates now, of course) were included in the original 100 hikes by Manning and Spring.

Harvey Manning and Ira Spring were two of the greatest advocates for and stewards of Washingtons trails and wild places. I never had the opportunity to meet either one, but they greatly influenced me, as they have thousands of other hikers and budding conservationists. Through their words and photography in myriad guidebooks and coffee-table books, they introduced countless people to hiking and to Washingtons public lands. More importantly, they educated and alerted the publicand rallied them to protect so many of those wild places.