[at-l] Trail maps and guide books

[icw39@ncfreedom.net (Clark Wright)]

best two resources are the ALDHA Thru-hikers Companion (take the ring
binder off and only carry 15-20 pages at a time), and the custom trail
data and intinerary printouts you can make yourself if you buy the
current year CD-ROM that has all the shelters, roads, water sources,
mileage and other major landmarks in its database . . . I ended up
sending all the maps and trail guides home . . . some rightly say if you
are not real good in the woods to keep a good map; that is good advice,
but you not only lose a sense of truly being in the woods, you also may
end up having major emotional ups and downs based on those darn
elevation profiles, which just NEVER seemed to match my hiking reality! 
The maps and trail guides are a great thing to have back home to bring
back memories and learn more and more about the places you hiked . . .
and my feelings on maps somehow are different for section hikes - I
always take them . . . just something about the thru-hike experience got
me to a point where I did not want them anymore . . .

thru-thinker

Todd \"M&M\" Ricker wrote:
> 
> I find that the AT Databook is probably the best resource for on the trail.
> If your looking to maybe enhance your experience a little bit more WF
> Thruhikers handbook is a good choice.  The guidebook is lighter and covers
> allot more of the mileage points along the trail like gaps, major peaks,
> water sources and road crossings.  If I were to do it again I would use the
> databook.  As for maps well if your planning to be a purist, well the only
> maps you may need are of town stops.  The trail is easily followed by
> following the white blazes.  I didn't bring any maps on my thru-hike, found
> I never needed them.  If your into seeing what another mountain or valley is
> the maps might be a nice addition, but for me it was just one more thing to
> add to my pack.  Note, maybe throw the maps into your maildrops so you can
> see what you might have in store up ahead, you know like nice scenic blue
> blazes, other water sources, go camping areas, but whatever you do, ignore
> that daggone profile map.
> __
> 
> Todd "M&M" Ricker
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