Pack of cards puts you in the know about winter outings

Pick a card and take a hike.

Or cut the deck and see what comes up. It’s a trail guide in a deck of 4-by-6-inch cards, “Winter Hikes of Western Washington” by Craig Romano.

Like any trail guide, there’s an introduction, basic information on winter hiking, including a 10 essentials (winter edition) list and a key to the map symbols.

What makes the deck handy is that once you pick a hike, you can pull it out and tuck it in a pouch or pocket. Less weight and bulk, you see, always welcome on a hike.

Each card gives you information on the round-trip distance, degree of difficulty, elevation gain and high point. You have contact information, an appropriate map to use and notes about parking passes required, whether dogs are allowed, those kinds of things.

There’s a concise summary about the trail and what you’ll see along the way, and, of course, directions to get there.

On the other side of each card is a basic map of the hike.

Selected hikes cover Western Washington from the Columbia River to Bellingham, including the Olympic Peninsula and San Juan Islands.

The deck is published by The Mountaineer Books and lists for $15.95.