Hiking the Triple Crown : Appalachian Trail - Pacific Crest Trail - Continental Divide Trail - How to Hike America's Longest Trails

• Karen Berger also wrote our best-selling title Everyday Wisdom. It has sold over 27,000 copies
• An expertly written resource for all long-distance hikers
• Appeals to hikers and section hikers alike
• Sidebars offer advice and helpful hints from other thru-hikers and suggestions for shorter backpacking trips
• The book is easy to read and accessible. The sections are broken down so you only have to read what pertains to you. And then refer back to it whenever you need additional information or when you prepare for your next hike
• Section One is about the basics of thru-hiking, Section Two, Three and Four are devoted to the individual trails and contains information specific to each trail
• Inspiring, encouraging and detailed. All the advice and information comes from a person who knows

The Appalachian Tail, Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail-the so-called Triple Crown Trails—have captured the imaginations of thru-hikers and backpackers alike. For anyone dreaming of or planning a thru-hiking or long-distance hiking endeavor, Hiking the Triple Crown is an indisputable must-have resource. Focusing on the triple crown, author/triple-crown hiker Karen Berger covers everything one needs to know about long-distance hiking.

Starting with the easiest and the oldest-the Appalachian Trail-and graduating to the more variable Pacific Crest Trail and the more difficult Continental Divide Trail, Berger walks the reader through the unique landscapes, trail characteristics, challenges and strategies, exploring issues that fascinate and perplex hungry-information thru-hikers. She covers the logistics of how to hike these trails, skill requirements, seasonal factors, navigation and route finding, gear, weight issues, food, re-supplying, mileage, safety, technique, etiquette, tips and more.

Berger's love of these magnificent trails is what makes this book--klike her other books, especially "Where the Waters Divide"-- shine; she obviously has a profound respect for these national treasures and realizes the importance of making others aware of them as well. It's easy to read, has some great photos, and offers shorter hikes to those less inclined to set off on a 6-month thru-hike. The book is useful as both a general hiking reference tool as well as in the planning stages, especially for the At and the PCT; it is also useful for those who wish to do shorter hikes on any of the triple crowns.


Great overview of the three trails   December 31, 2001
 18 out of 21 found this review helpful

This is a fine overview of the three major hiking trails that criss-cross the United States. The major focus of the book is on the renowned Appalachian trail, with most of the text devoted to the AT. The Pacific Crest Trail has some useful information, though the chapters on this trail are shorter and less detailed. The Continental Divide Trail is given more sparse coverage, because the trail is not yet completed and is not attempted by very many hikers, except the very bravest souls.

This book is recommended for people who are not in the immediate stages of planning a thru hike. If you're planning on tackling any of these trails, specific books on each individual trail is the way to go. There is too much general information here for those seriously considering a hike in the near future. This book is fine as an overview and to give you a sample feel of each hike, but is less successful for one planning a hike in the coming year.

The writing is excellent and the book is riveting in sections. For all those obsessed with hiking any of the grand thru trails in America, this is an excellent and recommended resource.


Awesome!   May 25, 2001
 21 out of 22 found this review helpful

"Hiking the Triple Crown" is an awesome volume. If you're not familiar with any of America's three great Wilderness trails, this is a head-first dive into refreshing waters.

Even those who consider themselves pseudo-expert hikers, well-read on these thru-hikes (like myself), will find delightful insights when seeing them presented back-to-back-to-back like this. For example, many PCT- and CDT-hikers tend to refer to the Appalachian Trail as "that wussy trail back East" because of its shorter mileage, lower elevation, and the fact that you really don't need a map because of crowds and blazed markings. However, she explains that the AT is actually the most difficult of the three when it comes to frequent steep climbs and rocky footpaths. Having only hiked sections of the PCT and CDT myself, I never knew that. Ground-leveling comparisons like that (no pun intended) abound through the text.

Being one of the few people ever to have finished the whole Triple Crown, Karen brings great perspective to the nature of America's greatest trails that few can claim to have. A fantastic book for anyone interested in ANY of these trails.