[pct-l] Grid, Graph, Spreadsheet in Preparation and During Hike

[Scott Bryce]

Scott wrote:
> Boy, do we need to be so defensive about planning?

Were people getting defensive? You can plan all you want, as long as you
realize that things will be different on the trail than you thought they
would be while you were planning.

> For example, I'm planning on doing a spreadsheet (although it's not
> in any form yet, just note gathering right now).  It will say how far
> it is from one poin to the next, where water can be found, what side
> trips may be available, and what info from all the various guidebooks
> I found necessary and interesting.

All very well and good, as long as you realize that not all water
sources listed in the various books will have water in them when you are
hiking. That is one example of where over-planning can be a problem. If
you carry too little water because plans you made in January are based
on getting water at sources that are dry in May, you will have problems.

OTOH, I only planned to get water from sources that were known to be
reliable, and there were a couple of times I hiked past running water
with several pounds of water in my pack.

> That way I can carry the lightest weight set of info that gives ME
> exactly what info I want instead of a bunch of pages from guidebooks
> that list things I don't necessarily want.

That is a good reason to plan. That is how the PCT Atlas came to be.

> I felt like every time someone talked about planning the trip they
> got told they were idiots to do so

Oh, no. Plan all you want. It just isn't smart to expect your hike to go
exactly as planned.

> Hope I didn't offend anyone.

I don't think you did.

I have a spread sheet that lists various foods along with cost per
ounce, calories per ounce and calories per dollar. I used it to plan the
cheapest way to pack as many calories as I could into 2 lbs of food per
day. I'm not against planning.