[pct-l] Guide Books?

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, Mark,

Other than the interesting color-commentary -- the ongoing narrative about
notable features of the trail – there’s a basic difference between
following written instructions and using a map.  The written instructions
are situationally-relative:  “Continue till you see the big boulder, then
angle right”.  “Just before the fire-scar look for a faint trail
marker.”  Comments
like that are probably true, but the whole train-of-thought vaporizes if
one misses a point, and often can't be reestablished by examining the
small, associated map.  Does the map show the boulder you just missed
because the trail had been slightly re-routed?

Also, the written instructions are typically written “south-to-north”, the
usual hiking direction.  Have you ever tried to read situationally-relative
instructions backwards, i.e. “north-to-south”?  Give it a try sometime –
it’s a real hoot.

Maps alone, without instructions, have their own bag of peculiarities. When
relying upon maps it is advisable to keep up with the changing perspective
by being continually aware of the topographical features, i.e. whether
you’re on a ridge, or in a certain drainage, and whether you’ve passed the
lake yet; information that you can relate to the topo map.

People vary by which method they like:  Many map people like me – and it
seems to be a guy-thing – say, “Don’t tell me how to get there, just tell
me where it is.”

Steel-Eye

-Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/

On Wed, Apr 3, 2013 at 10:33 PM, Mark Halverstadt <markhalverstadt at gmail.com
> wrote:

> Hey PCT-L,
> Besides maps, do you (did you) plan to carry any sections of a guide book
> while hiking? If so what book are you planning on taking? Past Hiker please
> chime in on any useful guide books or sections that helped you out, or if
> you think carrying more anything more than maps is a waste of energy.
>
> Thanks,
> Mark
>