[pct-l] Halfmiles maps and other recourses (or "Why I prefer the PCT Atlas")

[enyapjr at comcast.net]

Sorry for the 'delay' in responding - too many 12 hour shifts in a row!!

>> Maybe if there were fold out pages with expanded elevation coverage, 
>> the so-called PUDs would show up much better - but if you look closely
>> at the topo maps, one can see there would be 'some' ups and downs...
>
> The data book, and hence the Atlas, has highly varying distances
> between landmarks.  The wider the distance the more frequent the
> misrepresentation of elevation change between landmarks. ...

If one is simply "connecting the dots" with a straight line between the
landmarks, that is very true - and possibly why Halfmile is doing away with
the "profiles" as he updates the CA sections (which BTW CA sections A 
through K have been updated so far)...  But, the PCT Atlas does show
elevation changes between landmarks - my point was that one would have to
expand the y-axis to exaggerate the smaller elevation changes to easily
see them...  Unless a thousand feet on the y-axis is expanded out, I doubt
that it will show much more 'detail'...  IMHO, the major elevation changes
are what is most important - the long hauls up after a resupply or when very 
hot, the long knee-pounding down stretches - those should be (and are) rather 
evident with just a glance, letting you plan your strategy ahead of time...

>>> Landmark mileages (Atlas) don't match the official either.  The variance 
>>> starts out small...(goes) up to 4.5 miles...shrinks to a .2 variance...
>>> then starts expanding again...
>>> This made it a real PITA matching water and other comments in the Yogi 
>>> book to the Atlas.
>>
>> True - but I've done my 'homework' already - ahead of time...  I've compared 
>> the various reports and books, and will make notes in the Atlas 'IF' needed...
>> As insinuated before, a landmark (including water sources) is still the same 
>> landmark to be found on a map - no matter what mileage value you want to call it...
> 
> Your preparation is impressive.  But I don't see what your comments
> have to do with mine.
> 
> All I was trying to do is point out that the conflicts between the
> data book mileages (used by Yogi) and the Atlas mileages may be an
> ongoing source of confusion...

In my previous post, I had also related the larger mileage differences between the
third and fourth editions of the Data Book (which didn't seem to cause too much
controversy or confusion in 2005), whereas the Atlas mileage discrepancy is less than
what the two Data Book editions was in '05...
Looking at the 'big picture' the differences in mileage are rather minor and become
irrelevant when one uses physical landmarks for verifying location...

And as I said in the previous post:
> But each person has to decide what THEY 'need' to carry and use - there's no correct
> or wrong decision (unless you take nothing, IMHO!)...
> YMMV, HYOH, etc. ...



> "Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana" - Karl Marx

Shouldn't that be Groucho?  ;-) 
"Reason has always existed, but not always in a reasonable form." - Karl Marx


Happy trails!!!
Jim (PITA)


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