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

[kdpo at pacbell.net (Ken Powers)]

You're pushing my hot button now!

Yes, we found places where the USFS says the CDT will be put on the ground.
When you see the ridge completely covered in forest and too rugged to cross
you realize they will never put the physical trail on the ground there. It
was some trail designers dream as he sat in an office somewhere.

We ran into this problem in all the states. At one place in NM we were
supposed to leave the dirt road and take a trail. The roads on the map
didn't reflect the roads on the ground. We (5 of us in 3 groups over 2 days)
couldn't find the trail. All 3 groups took different routes (roads) to
Reserve. We even took a road that was not on the map for about 10 miles. We
figured it had to cross another major dirt road that went where we wanted to
end up.

We also remember those trails that were in the wrong place. And we had both
sets of guides. The trail didn't match either sometimes. One of our favorite
rants is the new trail going north along the western border of Yellowstone
NP. Several of us (in different groups)  in 2002 followed that trail until
we realized where we were headed. This area has absolutely no water for
several days. This is new trail constructed by USFS that no thru-hiker in
his right mind will use. Talk about misuse of funds!

Ahhh, the joys of navigating when there aren't white blazes every 100 feet!
Frustrating, but rewarding in the end.

Ken
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim and/or Ginny Owen" <spiriteagle99@hotmail.com>
To: <kdpo@pacbell.net>; <wdlists@optonline.net>
Cc: <at-l@backcountry.net>
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2004 10:42 AM
Subject: Re: [at-l] Handbook/Companion/Data Book/Guide ??


> Ken Powers wrote:
>
> >Yeah, Montana USGS maps. HaHahaha! We were using maps from the 80's and
> >earlier. Since the trail isn't that old, it wasn't on the map. And the
CDT
> >didn't follow existing trail in some places. It is a newly cut trail. Go
> >ahead - trust the map!
>
> Ken -
> So did you run into the ones in Wyoming and Colorado where the trail was
on
> the map - but in the wrong place?  <G>
>
> Or the trails that were on the map, but not on the ground yet (and still
> isn't)?  <VBG>
>
> Or the trails that few, if any, thruhikers will ever walk?
>
>
> >Back on AT topics:
> >We found areas where we were climbing and the elevation profile said we
> >were
> >supposed to descend. After hiking the CDT we worried about that we were
> >lost. Then we realized that the trail had just been rerouted. The maps
were
> >updated, but not the profile.
>
> We haven't run into that on the AT - yet.  But we put more miles on the AT
> last weekend than we have for any one trip over the last 6 years.  We'll
be
> doing a lot more AT miles over the next two years as training for our next
> CDT trip.   814 bottles of beer on the shelf.............. <VVBSEG>
>
> Walk softly - and don't get lost,
> Jim
>
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