The Philly Inquirer to review my book

“my editor has informed me that this sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer has decided to do an editor's choice review of my book. i guess that's a good thing, if the review is positive.”

“I'd hope that an "Editor's Choice" review would be good. Unless of course, the "Editor's Choice" is to rag on you...lol...

I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, jmitch. Bet your book sales go up.”

“That's great Jeff. I have to make sure I get a copy on Sunday. I didn't get a copy of the Allentown Call article because you mentioned it after it came out. Grrrrrr... ;o)”

“Make sure you post the article for us "out of towners".”

“Second that chili! Congrats! Hoping to see you at of September for trip.”

“Whoa, that's big! Congrats man!”

“Great for you. It should be easy for all of us to find it: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/

Better hope it's positive.”

“I have to book....of course it will be positive. Unless of course it is reviewed by someone who hates bugs and chiggers and poison ivey and trails and backpackers.

In that event, you might be in trouble.”

“Who was it that said, "There is no such thing as bad publicity"?

Sounds to me like you are on the radar screen and that is good!”

“Cnograts and good luck!”

“Thats great jmitch!

Sounds like I need to get my book signed.”

“Check out the Philadelphia Inquirer's review on Jmitch's book:

Editor's Choice Book Review

Good show Jeff!”

“Nice review!! Very cool, jmitch!”

“Hail Jmitch! I can't get the link to open at the moment, but it sounds like it was a good review. Congrats man. :-)”

“Well done and congrats.
I bet if the editor had a miserable time or got the least bit lost he would have busted your b@!!s.”

“Best Sellers list here you come!”

“Posted on Sun, Aug. 10, 2003

Editor's Choice
Happy trails of little-known Pa. area
Reviewed by Frank Wilson
Inquirer Books Editor

Hiking the Endless Mountains
Exploring the Wilderness of Northeastern Pennsylvania
By Jeff Mitchell
Stackpole. 164 pp. $12.95

Some books aren't meant to be curled up with and read cover to cover. Guidebooks, for instance. You don't sit and read a Peterson bird guide. You use it to look up the bird that resembles the one you just saw.

My wife and I just spent a splendidly restful week in Pennsylvania's "Endless Mountains" region. Our base of operations was an elegantly appointed cabin perched among the trees above a stream outside of Tunkhannock in Wyoming County. Along with the usual bird, tree and wildflower guides, we took along Jeff Mitchell's Hiking the Endless Mountains, because we had no intention of being entirely sedentary during our stay.

"Endless Mountains" is the nickname given to the area made up of Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Wyoming Counties, just west of the Poconos. Though it boasts some of the state's most impressive scenery - with any number of gorges, canyons, glens, rapids and waterfalls, to say nothing of a sizable, picturesque stretch of the Susquehanna River - Mitchell correctly observes that it has "generally escaped the attention of the public."

Mitchell, a Tunkhannock lawyer and Wyoming County native, has put together a handy little volume. The 56 hikes he describes offer something for just about everybody, ranging in duration from a half-hour to eight hours and in length from a half-mile to eight miles. (Good, simple maps are included.)

Of course, length and duration do not necessarily coincide. One of the longest hikes, eight miles along the Old Bulldozer Road Trail in Ricketts Glen State Park, is of only moderate difficulty and takes about four hours. But the two-mile hike along Falls Creek in Bradford County can take as long as five hours, because there is no trail, the terrain is rocky, and part of the route is steep, with loose footing.

Mention of Falls Creek reminds me that Mitchell includes a lot of intriguing history in describing the scenes of the hikes (which makes it a good book to keep nearby for reading during idle moments). The area around Falls Creek, he points out, is now one of the most isolated in the region. But in the late 19th century, the coal town of Barclay was filled with churches, schools, a bar, and a population of more than 2,000. A diphtheria epidemic struck, and by 1900 Barclay had all but disappeared. Two years later, a lumber town named Laquin was established nearby and within a few decades also had a population of more than 2,000 and about 110 buildings. It even had a baseball team. Depletion of the forest, the Great Depression, and World War II combined to put an end to Laquin. Nary a trace of it can be found today.

I've hiked the trails in Sullivan County's World's End State Park. I've also hiked part of the Kettle Creek Gorge, some of the Wyoming State Forest, and a stretch of the Loyalsock Trail. Everything Mitchell has to say in his book about hiking those sites sounds accurate to me. He doesn't underestimate difficulties, but he doesn't exaggerate them. He also explains what the difficulties are.

My wife and I, as I said, didn't want to spend all of our time lolling about, but we weren't up for doing anything particularly strenuous, either. So the two hikes we picked - both new to me - were pretty tame affairs, but no less pleasant for that. The first was at Keystone College, a few miles east of Tunkhannock in La Plume (right next to Factoryville). This 270-acre campus has a network of trails, about four miles of them, running through 154 acres of woodland. (For a virtual visit, go to www.atlas.keystone.edu/edu/teachers.htm#Virtual%20Field%20Trips.)

You get to the trails by crossing a suspension foot bridge over the South Branch of Tunkhannock Creek. They were out of trail guides on the day we visited (the college librarian issued me a card and let me borrow the library's), but you could easily get by with just Mitchell's guide.

The other hike we took was in Susquehanna County, the one north of Wyoming, at the Woodbourne Forest and Wildlife Sanctuary. This is a parcel of about 600 acres donated to the Nature Conservancy in 1956. Mitchell's guide proved very useful in finding the place. As he notes, "the sign and small parking area are very easy to miss." They are indeed. The hike is easy, about a mile long, a little wet in spots. There's a big pond, complete with beaver lodge. As you walk along you hear the squeak and plop of spring peepers, accompanied by the twang of green frogs. Come along later in the season and bullfrogs, gray tree frogs, and American toads will join in the chorus.

If you're unfamiliar with the "Endless Mountains" region, it's worth getting to know, and a good time to get to know it is in the fall, when the trees are ablaze in color. Remember to take along Jeff Mitchell's guide.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact books editor Frank Wilson at 215-854-5616 or fwilson@phillynews.com.”

“I was wondering what trails is covered in the book?

Peregrinus”

“Great review! Congratulations!”

“AWESOME!”

“Nice article, they gave a Jeff's book a full page write up in our local paper last year with pictures and all which was really nice.”

“thanks everyone”

“Awesome jmitch!”

“way to go!!! your 15 seconds of fame has now turned into 30 seconds...nicely done and congrats!!!!”

“I am putting my signed copy of the book in a plastic cover.

I see the value going up already.

Nice Report. I am looking forward to hiking the are next year.”

“cool!”

“jmitch...

Cool! Very cool.

And thanks to Pennsy (Isn't that Pennsy a nice guy?!), for bringing this to the attention of the TT "family" here.”