Book excerpt: Here it is! The first comprehensive guide to trails of the South Fork. For more than ten years the Group for the South Fork has been working with the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society and the Southampton Trails Preservation Society to preserve and define the trails, ancient and new, of the South Fork of Long Island. Mike Bottini not only helped to blaze these trails, for more than four years he has been describing them in his column in The Southampton Press. "South Fork Outdoors," which served as the basis for this book, won the award for best outdoors column from the New York Press Association in 2002. An accomplished naturalist, Mike offers a vivid picture of the local ecologies of the trails. From seashore to oak/pine woods, from salt-water wetlands to freshwater ponds and kettleholes, Mike describes the unique natural history of the remarkably diverse South Fork environments. Even if you are only an armchair nature-lover, you'll find this book enormously informative. If you like to hike, whether for a hundred yards or a hundred miles, this guide is essential. Each trail is meticulously mapped and described, with extensive comments on what to look for and why.