[pct-l] PCT guides

[David Hough on pct-l]

Even as a plodding section hiker I always carry the
relevant parts of the Wilderness Press guides, the
data book, and Yogi's (small pages) book.     
I find each helpful.   I sometimes take pages from
the PCTA Town Guide as well.

(I don't have an opinion about Yogi's large pages 
because I haven't had a need to look at them.)

I also carry supplemental maps at times when I can
get them, especially for wilderness areas.

You don't need any of these.    I've encountered
people through hiking with no documentation whatever.
I encountered one of those folks who had to turn
around
because he ran out of footprints to follow in the
snow, though.   He could have continued heading
generally
north and gotten to Crater Lake eventually, I suppose.

Particularly as a section hiker with short time
limits,
though, I like to know where I am going and what
special problems may lie ahead.    So I like to have
as much information as possible.    (If I ever did a
PCT through hike I would want to try to go southbound,
and wouldn't dare rely on the presence of other 
hikers.)

Where Yogi's got
the rest beat is in timeliness.     If there are any
mistakes, they are less than a year old and will be
fixed in less than a year.    All the other info
sources are much less punctual.   This is especially
important for the resupply info, which changes
practically monthly - e.g. Callahan's - but month-old
information is better than years-old.

I guess the moral from this discussion is HYOH.
Lighter or heavier documentation depends on your goals
and means, and like other ultralight gear, you can go
lighter if you know your limits well enough and have
the self-discipline to respect them in tight spots.

I suppose people that find the PCT too easy or too
well documented or too crowded
could move on to the CDT, and if that's
not enough challenge, could continue on north along
the
continental divide to the Arctic.   Or south to 
Tierra del Fuego.