[pct-l] Maps

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

On Mar 4, 2009, at 4:11 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
>
> in regards to your question about where the topo maps for the PCT  
> Atlas came
> from, check out this website, the maps look similar
>
> http://www.hikertrash.net/
>
> either way these maps are great to print out for the PCT

I went to the trouble to print out these maps before my hike last  
year. It took me a long time to print them and when I was done I had  
a huge, heavy stack of paper. Paper is really heavy. There was like a  
half a ream or something. I ended up not bringing them.

Mostly I find any of the maps relatively useless. I did use the Tom  
Harrison JMT map and it was nice at times. I can see how having a  
nice map and the data book would have advantages over the guide book.  
But all maps are too narrow. There is no surrounding landscape on  
them. It's just the narrow area around the trail. No alternative routes.

In the end, I found the maps mostly useless. I stuck with the guide  
book and data book because a) the data book is the most useful of all  
the resources, b) I enjoyed reading the guide book each night, c) I  
enjoyed making fun of the guide book (aka the Book of Lies). It would  
tell me to turn left as I heard the calling of chickadees or to  
quicken my pace as I ponder the instability of the geologic  
landscape, or worst of all, that Glenn Pass consisted of a couple of  
switchbacks. It was a riot. I needed a nemesis so I wouldn't turn  
completely on myself.