[REJ]

I need help. What was the first published guidebook for trails in Washington State and the United States? For Washington State I have found the following: Leissler, Frederick. 1957. Roads and trails of Olympic National Park. Univ of Washington Press. Wills, Robert, H. 1962. High trails: a guide to the Cascade Crest Trail. Univ of Washington Press. There is map called Jim Taplin's Olympic trail guide dated about 1930s For the United States I have nothing.

[MC]

I believe the first version of Beckeys Bible came out in 1949 with a revision in 1962 published by the American Alpine Club. Starrs Guide to the John Muir trail goes back to the 1930's. The Mountains of California, by John Muir was before the turn of the century and could be considered a trail guide. the first 100 hikes book was in the early 60's. there also was a guide book to the Appalacian (sp) Trail in the 1920's according to "A Walk in the Woods". Of course you could consider Lewis and Clarks Journals to be trail guides also.

[Scrooge]

For the US: A.M.C. White Mountain Guide, first edition 1907. I have the 1966 edition. A.M.C. is Appalachian Mountain Club My guess is that this is the oldest continuously published guidebook, at least as far as true trail guides go. Recreational mountaineering goes back at least to the mid-19th Century in New England, so there probably are guides of some sort going back almost as far. Here's a suggestion of where it might start: "Abel Crawford and his son, Ethan Allen Crawford, also constructed the first footpath to Mount Washington some 177 years ago (1819)." .... So that might be the first US trail built to be a trail.

[REJ]

MC: Your right the Beckey guide (or Climber's Guide to the Cascade and Olympic Mountains of Washington) was the first climbing guide to the Cascades. The first edition was published in 1949. A revised edition was published in 1953. A committee of the AAC updated the guide in 1962? (Wonder why Beckey was not involved? Probably climbing to much. The early 1960s were some of his most productive years.) I don't think these books qualify as a hiking or trail guides. The books by J. Muir (or at least the ones I have read) and Lewis and Clark journals would be better classified as Trail Narratives. I believe that Routes and Rocks was the first hiking guide published by the Mountaineers (1965). The first 100 Hikes book was published in 1966. Scooge: I thought that the AMC might have published first hiking guide. The White Mountain Guide is in its 26th edition! I would expect that the British probably published the first hiking and climbing guidebooks (at least in English).

[Malachai Constant]

I checked on my copies at home and the AAC Cascade and Olympic guide was published in 61 (I have a xerox copy from the University Branch of the Seattle Library). R&R came out in 65 (I have second ed 66). 100 hikes was in 66 as you say. Starrs guide came out in 34 and is a true trail guide. The earliest Washington Guide I have is a reprint of 1874 edition of Northern California, Oregon and the Sandwich Islands, 10 speed press, 1974. I also have a reprint of an 1840's map that shows the various emigrant routes from the oregon Historical Society. I know there were guides to the Orgon Trail published in the east some of which were wildly inaccurate such as the one the influenced the Donner party to disaster. Since most waked most ofthe way they could be called hiking guides.

[Dalekz]

Frederick Leissler published "Roads and Trails of Olympic National Park" in 1957 by the University of washington Press

[mvs]

I just got a copy of Routes and Rocks. This book is so amazing. I can't believe it's out of print. I love the little drawings, the maps, the whole style of the book. And I'm really gonna love some of the high routes! --Michael