[pct-l] Hiking without the guide book??

[jeff.singewald at comcast.net]

Just another take on the guidebooks...  In 2006 I very much enjoyed having the guidebooks with me.  Each night after I finished my journaling I found it enjoyable to read the "wordy" descriptions of the route that I would be travelling the next day.  I enjoyed the descriptions and enjoyed learning a bit more about the area that the the trail would travel through.  And, given that I am not a gram weenie, I had no issues packing the extra weight.  As far as Yogi's guide, I did not find it to be of any value on the trail, however, her town guides were very useful for California.  I also carried the Tom Harrison maps for the High Sierra given that 2006 was a high snow year, but to be honest, didn't find myself referring to these much at all.  Preferred the guidbook maps and compass. 



I do agree that the guidebooks and data books are a bit misleading with regards to elevation profiles if you are utilizing them for that purpose, but heck, we all know we are going to be doing a lot of climbing and descending so I did not find this to be a big deal as I preferred the ups and downs as opposed to the long flat sections. 



Having viewed the Atlas book briefly this past year, I might consider this tool on my next thru-hike of the PCT though.  Good stuff. 



Elevator 




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "jason moores" <jmmoores at hotmail.com> 
To: pct-l at backcountry.net 
Sent: Monday, November 30, 2009 11:12:02 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific 
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Hiking without the guide book?? 


I've hiked with the WP Guides and the Atlas and didn't care for either. The WP books are overly wordy and the maps too narrow in scope to route find. I found the Atlas to be flawed and way over priced for what they are. The Atlas maps are likewise useless for true route finding, being too broad in scope to show the necessary details. 99% of the time, both books are adequate for tracking where you are on the trail. But if lost, or on snow I wouldn't trust my life to them. 

I hiked for 500 miles with the Tom Harrison JMT maps and Halfmile's PCT maps and loved both. Easy to read, no unnecessary verbiage or misleading elevation profiles. If you are comfortable with reading maps you'll love Halfmile's. Paired with the data book info, water report and Yogi's town info and Sierra pass' descriptions you are ready to go. I was able to print out the Halfmile maps along the way and mailed sections ahead to places where this wouldn't have been possible. It would have been cheaper to print the maps at home but since my Atlas sections weren't ready when I needed them...I improvised. I don't think that the Halfmile maps are finished for Washington but do cover about three quarters of the trail. 

When I hit the trail in 2010 I'll be carring: Halfmile maps, data pages, water report and Yogi info. 

Jackass 

> From: newmanonthepct at gmail.com 
> To: brettcosner at yahoo.com 
> Date: Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:21:54 -0800 
> CC: pct-l at backcountry.net 
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Hiking without the guide book?? 
> 
> Seems like you are planning tocarry some sort of info with maps so why   
> not check out the pct atlas.  All the info and just the right size and   
> weight if that is the concern. 
> 
> On Nov 30, 2009, at 3:15 PM, Brett Cosner <brettcosner at yahoo.com> wrote: 
> 
> > Anyone try hiking the PCT without the guide book?  I plan to hike   
> > this summer sobo and don't want to do many resupply boxes or mail   
> > drops.  I would start with some of the guide for Washington, but   
> > rely on maps and the data book after that.  I also plan to carry   
> > some pages of Yogi's guide.  I have people who will meet me in   
> > Washington, Northern and Central California so I will send them   
> > parts of the guide as well. 
> > 
> > How necessary are the official guides for all three states? 
> > 
> > Thanks, and all opinions welcome.  :-) 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
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