[cdt-l] Going thru in 2004

[cdt-l@mailman.backcountry.net (Marcia Powers)]

Jim Wolf's CDTS guidebooks are superior to the Westcliffe series, but you
may
want to pick them up also.  One or two hikers I know hiked without either,
but I wouldn't recommed it.

I agree with Sly's assessment of the guide books but would go farther and
say that at times Westcliffe was dangerous because:

   it neglicted to mention some water sources
    mileage was inaccurate to the point that it made a difference in the
amount of food carried; more miles meant not enough food was carried to get
us to the next resupply
    bail-outs weren't listed (we got them from reading Jim Wolf backwards)
    CO is written SoBo and all other books are written NoBo so at some point
a one direction through hiker reads a guide backwards
    elevation changes are not usually mentioned in the text and the segment
profiles are so general that they are misleading
    pictures in the guide mean a lightweight hiker is carrying useless info
    personal anecdotes (in 1996 it snowed on us at ...) don't belong in a
guide
    phrases such as "If (when) you get lost..." or "Head north and a little
west ..." didn't instill confidence in the guide
    gps coordinates measured from a map are not accurate enough to pinpoint
a water source and should be identified as not being coordinates from the
field


We were very frustrated with Westcliffe and these are points that stick in
my mind after being home for three months. I think I had more criticisms
while hiking!

IMHO
Marcia
CDT-L mailing list
CDT-L@mailman.backcountry.net
http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/cdt-l