taking maps/compass or not... Re: Re[2]: [at-l] What about thebooks?

[lbooher at pure.net (lbooher)]

Not to mention that the maps have the profile map feature along the edge.  
Sometimes, I just cut that off and leave the rest of the map home.  <G>  
anklebear

On Thu, 13 Nov 2003 12:26:49 -0800 (PST), Sloetoe wrote
> --- Slyatpct@aol.com wrote to Weary:
> > I'll agree if you want the names of the 
> > mountains you're climbing and those in the distance they're
> > worthwhile, but if money is an issue you can get by with
> Wingfoot's book.  I know I did, and that was before the databook
> was incorporated.  
> > 
> > I suppose with you're line of thinking, everyone should also
> > carry a bird, animal, insect and plant guide.  It would be
> nice, but not practical. 
> > Sly
> ### HA! Would that there were bird, animal, insect, or plant
> guides that measure 36"x24" and go 50 waterproofed grams, I'd be
> all over 'em. (That's a hint for someone to make some money, R.
> Worm) But as those guides go manymany pages and manymany ounces,
> I'll read 'em at home. Maps, howsomeever, are much harder to
> memorize, but go so much easier in the pack and on the back. No
> one is arguing reasonable, Sly -- or practical. And it is
> practical to carry maps. Very. And a compass, too. (That
> laughter you here is JimOwens, falling off his single-Leki eagle
> perch. Just hearing "compass" in the same sentence as "Aye-Tee"
> gives him giggle-fits. He snorts; he titters; his eyes water.
> The man's disgusting.)
> 
> ### I carry a compass right on my left shoulder strap, hung with
> the whistle and the thermometer. I know my direction at a glance
> (no guessing, no phalse reckonings), and can place myself on the
> map quickly -- or tell where the map's gone bad -- or where the
> *route* has gone bad and I want to shamelessly blueblaze around
> STUPID reroutes, or how far I need to go to get on the sunrise
> side of the ridge, or where to point my camp to catch that
> sunrise while still in my sleeping bag, or where the next water
> source will be (cuz the guidebook/databook show barely 1/4 of
> 'em) or where a good campsite will be (cuz the
> guidebook/databook show barely 1/400 of 'em) or what ridge I may
> want to hike next time (or later today) or.... Well, I'll stop
> here. In short, I agree with Weary: 
> 
> > In a message dated 11/13/2003 12:02:41 PM Eastern Standard
> > Time, ellen@clinic.net writes: 
> > > Maps should be carried on the trail -- not to avoid getting
> > lost, though they might occasionally be useful for that
> purpose -- but as a guide to the surrounding countryside. They
> provide names for those surrounding peaks, information about the
> lay of the land, answer the questions of curious folks about
> where adjacent trails and roads lead to, and just generally make
> the trail more enjoyable. But if your goal is simply to get from
> Springer to Katahdin as simply and as easy as possible, leaving
> them home will save a few ounces. 
> > > But for those who want to understand the trail and it's
> surroundings, maps are invaluable.
> 
> ### But there IS another reason to carry maps -- that Weary
> hints around: when there is an emergency, and you need to get
> someone (yourself included) off the ridge as soon as possible,
> there is simply no way to make an informed choice as to the best
> combination of distance, route, and trailhead, except with a
> map. Or a helicopter. Or a OnStar-equipped GPS/sellfone with
> laser beacon and SAR homing signal and bonfire generator.
> Emergencies never happen on a good day, and 4 or 5 ounces to
> give good advice would be more than worth the burden without
> considering the other uses for maps/compasses.
> 
> declinationtoe
> 
> =====
> Spatior! Nitor! Nitor! Tempero!
>    Pro Pondera Et Meliora.
> 
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