[pct-l] Bickering, Maps & Water

[Reinhold Metzger]

There seems to be much bickering about whether maps are needed or not.
I have hiked the JMT many times and do not really need maps anymore to 
guide me from
Yosemite to Whitney or vice-versa.
Would I ever venture into the wilderness without them?.....NEVER.
I would never venture into the wilderness without a map or compass.
To me a map and compass are not so much to get me from here to there, 
but to let me know
where I am in relation to water and the surrounding.
So, if you carry enough water and never get lost you probably could do 
without a map.
However, when you run out of water or get lost, that is when the maps 
are worth their weight in gold.

You don't really need them until you  "REALLY"  need them and then your 
life could depend on them.

Make no mistake....hikers do run out of water, get lost, get into 
trouble and have perished because
of it.
I am ashamed to admit that I have gotten lost....of all things, on my 
baby,  the JMT.
Getting lost in the wilderness is easier than you think, especially when 
hiking at night.

Hikers also get hurt or have other emergencies that require them to blow 
out to the nearest town or road.
That is when the map and compass, again, are an absolute must.

Like I said....YOUR  LIFE  MAY  DEPEND  ON  YOUR  MAP &  COMPASS....that 
is why I never venture
into the wilderness without them....not even on my  "JMT Fast 
Packs"....where  UL  is an obsession.
I may cut off the handle on my tooth brush and count the number of  
"APP"  sheets needed.....but I will
never, and I repeat never,  venture into the wilderness without my 
trusted map & compass.

Like Ned says....be careful out there and be prepared.

As far as water in the Sierra....Chuck is right , there is lots of 
permanent water on the JMT...even in low
snow years.

JMT Reinhold
Your map and compass packing trail companion