[pct-l] a small suggestion ....

[David Plotnikoff]

Hello from a longtime list-lurker. Apropos to nothing in particular, 
I wanted to strongly urge the PCT class of 2008 to spend a few hours 
of downtime (while the weather's less than rosy, perhaps) doing at 
least one fly-over of the trail on Google Earth.

This coming season will be my ninth on the PCT. And yet as I cobble 
together my trip outline, I'm still amazed how helpful it is to have 
a visual aid to jog my memory from years past: That certain tricky 
roadwalk, that sketchy trail intersection, etc. etc. Google Earth 
(with the NFS trace route) really pulls it all together dynamically 
in a way the databook, notes and maps can't individually.

There are a couple stretches of my route this year that I'll be doing 
for the fourth or fifth time. And still, even a planning wonk like me 
finds fresh information from the flyovers.

Additionally, if you're planning on using GPS -- but not in 
conjunction with NGS Topo! maps -- Google Earth is a zero-cost way to 
gather some critical waypoints for your planning. You need not pay 
for the enhanced Google product in order to benefit from the GPS data.

Maybe I haven't been looking in the right places, but I have yet to 
find an authoritative set of PCT waypoints for use in conjunction 
with Google Earth. (Paging Scott Parks or Matt Maxon to the white 
courtesy phone ... ?) It would make a fine project for someone who's 
suffering a touch of the old cabin fever ....

See you all on the trail,

David Plotnikoff
Best On the Crest

http://www.emeraldlake.com/pctguide/