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

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

I loved the guide book. I loved all the wordy stuff. I liked walking  
by something and wondering about it and then learning about it in the  
guide book. I was disappointed that for all his love of trees, he  
never did explain the weird trees coming down into Etna. But I dig  
that word, Ultramafic. Yeah.

There's another map option from a guy named More than a Mile. (Is  
that a dis on Halfmile?) His maps are available from a CD set you can  
buy from the PCTA web site. I printed out some of those maps for a  
section from Quincy to the midway point on the trail. They did the job.

Most of the time (like when there's no snow), I don't think a map is  
even necessary. Personally I found a description easier to use since  
I rarely looked at the maps. If the Data Book and keeping a close eye  
on the time (after a few days you get to know how much time it takes  
you to go anywhere on the trail) didn't keep me oriented, a quick  
peek at the description in the guide book would get me back on track.

Otherwise, where there was snow, the green trail maps were the best.