[at-l] Handbook/Companion/Data Book/Guide ??

[jbullar1 at twcny.rr.com (Jim Bullard)]

At 10:41 PM 1/7/2004 -0500, Leslie Booher wrote:
>The trick with profile maps is that they show the shape of the trail, not 
>the way it looks on the ground.  It's as though you laid a string on the 
>trail, measured it, then stretched it out straight for the profile 
>map.  One example of the shape of the trail versus what is actually on the 
>ground is going north into Erwin.  What looks like a long, slow, 
>straight-out descent on the profile map is actually a cliff face with long 
>switchbacks.  If you look at the profile map, you get one impression of 
>what a particular mountain looks like.  If you look at it from a distance, 
>the mountain looks completely different.  The vertical shape of the trail 
>is different from the shape of the mountain itself.  Am I saying this in a 
>way that makes it clear?  Somebody help me out here!

You don't need help. You did just fine but your example of the switchbacked 
trail is why one should also refer to the map because comparing the map and 
the profile explains the discrepancy in perception.