[at-l] GPS Questions

[Mara Factor]

[Argh!  My internet accesss went down right after I finished typing a 
response yesterday but before I could hit send.  Please pardon all the stuff 
in here that others have already expounded on but I think there's some "new" 
stuff in here, too.]


Hi Mike,

I've embedded relevant comments below...

Mara
Stitches, AT99

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Visit my Travels and Trails web site at:

http://friends.backcountry.net/m_factor
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>From: "Michael O. Hanson" <mhanson at winternet.com>
>To: <at-l at backcountry.net>
>Subject: [at-l] GPS Questions
>Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2006 08:56:35 -0500
>
>...
>I am considering hiking south to north.

Hiking south to north means more daylight hours for those of us sighted 
folks who need to see where we're going.  If you have light perception, the 
longer days may prove useful to you, too.

>From what I've heard from southbounders, they tend to have to deal with a 
lot more cold weather than the realtively short stretches us northbounders 
encounter near the beginning and end of our hikes.

>...
>Use of good GPS data will allow me to overcome some obstacles that could
>prove difficult.

I suspect that GPS data will do more to let you know that you have arrived 
at certain destination coordinates rather than help you get there.  From 
what I understand, it can be difficult at times to get accurate readings 
along the forested trails of the A.T. so even destination coordinates may 
not prove reliable if you can't get good signals on your gps.

>...
>I understand Bill Irwin hiked the AT using a Seeing Eye dog in 1990.
>Therefore, I do not consider such a hike impossible due to my disability.

If I remember correctly from his presentation, he probably fell as many 
times along the trail as the rest of the thruhikers on the trail that year 
combined.  Doesn't sounds like fun to me.  I think he had some light/dark 
vision.

>...
>I have done enough backpacking and have enough wilderness experience to
>estimate physical demands, physical training requirements, weather
>conditions I am likely to encounter, food requirements and similar
>considerations.

Have you done any of this hiking in areas like the White Mountains of New 
Hampshire?  I've hiked in numerous places throughout the U.S. and the world 
and still find the Whites to be amongst the most difficult hiking I've ever 
done.  OK, Mount Ossa in Tasmania was as hard as anything in the Whites but 
the Overland Track was a cakewalk (or should I say boardwalk?).

Hiking in the Whites is not what most would call hiking.  Most would call it 
scrambling and many areas require hand over hand navigating to get over, 
around, and above obstacles in the trail.

Hmm, I have to wonder if the PCT might be an interesting option...  Not much 
scrambling (it's graded for pack animals) but navigating around the cactus 
could be interesting.  Ouch!  Plus gps would be much mroe reliable in the 
largely open areas.

>...
>First, how do people raise money for such a hike?  What methods have hikers
>used?

Some people work extra jobs.  Some people just spend less than others.  A 
combination works well, too.  Keep in mind, for most people, the largest 
expense is the lost income from taking 6 months or so off work.

I recommend taking the time to save as much money as necessary to not have 
to think about money along the trail.  There are some hikers who manage to 
find odd jobs along the trail to make money to keep going, but there are 
always hikers each year who run out of money and have to get off the trail.  
Or the constant threat of running out of money clouds their enjoyment of the 
trail.

>...
>Second, have people turned AT hikes into sources of income?  I understand
>hiking the AT is more than a money-making venture.  Having said that, I am
>not independently wealthy.  The need for income after completing such a 
>hike
>is a consideration.  Writing about the experience is the most obvious 
>method
>I can think of at this time.

While a few people have written and published books after their thruhikes, 
most people just make money by going back to work.

>...
>Third, how do hikers resupply with food and other items requiring frequent
>replacement?  I understand mailing food and other items to points along the
>AT is a common practice.  Purchasing items along the way is another option.

I had nearly 30 maildrops during my thruhike.  If I did it again, I would 
probably have two - just for exchanging gear when the weather got hot - and 
then cold.  Bounce boxes are useful for mailing ahead "extra" gear such as 
maps, film, etc.  I ended up feeling quite silly picking up maildrops full 
of food when there were full service supermarkets in many towns along the 
way.  Not only that, but my tastes changed and sometimes I felt locked into 
eating what was in my maildrop rather than buying what I would have 
preferred.  I also found I got a lot less picky along the way and would have 
had no problems resupplying in many of the smaller markets along the way.

In the mid-Atlantic states, there's plenty of deli-to-deli hiking.  I was 
constantly carrying much too much food from drop to drop.

All this is moot if you have any specific dietary restrictions.  If that's 
the case, then maildrops are definitely the way to go.  I've met hikers who 
could not have hiked the trail if not for maildrops.  That said, almost all 
hikers I've talked with who had more than a handful of maildrops wished they 
had fewer maildrops.

>...
>Fourth, does anybody know of accurate sources of GPS data for such a hike?

The ATC has done two GPS surveys of the AT.  The data from the first survey 
is available on their web site at:

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/gis

The data from their second survey, completed just one year ago, is probably 
more accurate and more complete but does not seem to be available on their 
web site.  Contact the ATC directly to see if they can make it available to 
you.

...