[pct-l] Guid books

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good afternoon, Phil,



By “large maps” I mean the 8 ½” x 11” prints that are formatted on
HalfMile’s PDFs.  I don’t carry the full-size USGS quad maps.  Even at 8 ½”
x 11” they are much larger and better than the maps in the Guidebook.



The Guidebook maps are OK – thousands of hikers have successfully used them,
including me – but they are black & white except for the tiny blue creeks;
they don’t have Lat/Long or UTM grid references, which I use; and they
certainly don’t have any waypoints.



I’m a GPS user, not because I think it’s necessary for a PCT hike, but
because it is handy and because I am so amazed with the technology.  For
previous hikes I’ve had to mark my own waypoints on the Guidebook maps for
selected points, and that’s a real pain.



In previous years I carried Guidebook sections to which I seldom referred;  the
Town Guide pages which are pretty lame; the Data Book pages which I used the
most; and a few regionally-appropriate 1:500,000 map prints just to show the
road systems.



I almost never read any of the verbiage in the Guidebook.  I’m a
left-brained, visually oriented person.  I want to see a map rather than
have someone tell me to turn left at the rock and keep walking till I see a
red and yellow bird sitting on a limb.  Besides, have you ever tried to read
those Guidebook directions backwards, i.e. north-to-south?



This year I plan to rely solely on the HalfMile PDFs for as far  as they go,
which is currently Hwy-138 north of Crater Lake, and a few 1:500,000 prints.
Those, plus the GPS of course.



Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT -- 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye


On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 8:56 AM, Phil Newhouse <newhoupa1 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Steel-Eye,
>
> "...large maps and waypoints..."...
>
> Do you just carry the large maps and not the guide book or other docs?  Do
> you use a GPS?
>
> phil
>
>
> On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 8:41 AM, CHUCK CHELIN <steeleye at wildblue.net>wrote:
>
>> Good morning, Wren,
>>
>>
>>
>> All the sections are rewarding, so just pick something of an appropriate
>> length which offers agreeable logistics for your situation.
>>
>>
>>
>> Probably the best over-all bet is to get the PCT guidebook for the
>> section(s) to be hiked.  You’ve probably already swallowed the hiking hook
>> past the barb so you will eventually need the books anyway.
>>
>>
>>
>> I personally like HalfMile’s maps that can be downloaded free at:
>> http://www.pctmap.net/index.html  but that all depends upon how
>> comfortable
>> you are primarily using larger maps and waypoints vs. smaller maps and a
>> text description of the route.
>>
>>
>>
>> Steel-Eye
>>
>> Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT -- 1965
>>
>> http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 8:19 AM, Melissa Caster <rain_caster at yahoo.com
>> >wrote:
>>
>> > Hi everyone,
>> > I am planning a two month section hike. I was considering doing part of
>> the
>> > central and northern CA sections. Do you recommend this area over
>> others?
>> > And if so whats a GOOD book that will get me through this section?
>> > thanks Wren
>> >
>> >
>> >
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>> >
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>