[pct-l] ? forest service maps ?

[wandering_bob@msn.com (wandering_bob@msn.com)]

--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
The PCT is supposed to be a wilderness experience. Sure, some signage is ne=
eded but especially in the North Cascades, if you can't read a map and use =
a compass with it, you probably don't belong there. The same can be said fo=
r portions of the Sierras and the Sonoran desert areas. I've laid untold fe=
et of trail tape at tricky, off-set trail/road junctions for those who woul=
d follow, and followed untold feet of same left by those who went before me=
. Part of the fun is route-finding. So while I would not say signage is a m=
ess, I would agree that one should not count on it to find the trail. Why d=
o you think that a map and a compass are part of the 10 essentials?

Signage seems to depend on which forest service district you are in at the =
time. Some USFS supervisors keep their section of the PCT well maintained a=
nd signed; others won't/can't spend the money. Volunteers (CA section O is =
a perfect example) pick up all the slack. The best signage is in Crater Lak=
e NP where the signs are 1/4 steel. Try hitting THAT with a bullet, Redneck=
! Other places, the newer fiberglass slats seem to appear to the shotgunnin=
g crowd as they roar by in their ATV's.

For OR and WA sections, I'd recommend the 15 minute series (1:69500) Green =
Trails Map series available at REI. They are very good and much more up to =
date than the USGS or NFS maps. I have several different addresses for GTM.=
 To my knowledge, they are not available for CA.

PO Box 1932   Bothell, WA 98041
PO Box 1272 Bellevue, WA 98009
PO Box 1142 Kingston, WA 98346


Wandering Bob
----- Original Message -----
Wrom: WOYIYZUNNYCGPKYL
Sent: Monday, December 30, 2002 10:46 AM
To: pct-l@backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] ? forest service maps ?



Markings or not, I can only recall losing the trail in few places.  Twice
when it was snow covered and one of those times I had lost my maps heading =
up
Muir Pass. Another time, I stupidly pealed off a perfectly maintained PCT t=
o
take a side trip to Monache Creek, but bushwhacked my way back near Olancha
Peak using the guidebook maps.  Occasionally, I did have minor delays at
roads crossings until I realized that the maps would usually point out whic=
h
way, to the left or right, that the trail continued.

I'll agree the PCT doesn't have the blazes, cairns and markings of the AT,
but hiked using the guidebooks and guidebook maps, it wasn't all that
difficult to follow.

Personally, I got sick of seeing all the white blazes on the AT.  It was a =
no
brainer!  At least parts of the PCT, you had a semblance of wilderness,
walking down a well worn path.


Sly


fkroger1999@yahoo.com writes:

> Contrary to the comments in the below posting I would not agree that the =
PCT
> I hiked in 2002 was "excellently signed." I found it difficult to find th=
e
> trail when it crossed highways where the trial was offset from one side t=
o
> the other. I found miles of trail where only local land marks are indicat=
ed
> on signs, without any mention of the PCT. I found places where only the
> north bound direction is signed. I met a ranger putting up brand new sign=
s
> which did not mention the PCT. In short the signing on the PCT is a mess
> and can not be relied on to find the trail.

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