[pct-l] Halfmile maps, 2014 vs 2015

[Paint Your Wagon]

Hey Walt- 

Wuz up? 
I’m grilling some rib eyes and mushrooms on the barby... 
listening to Pandora- 
got some Todd Snider on, 
banging out the song Beer Run. 
lol.

I want to be clear- 
I am not advocating going map-less. 
I am more or less paying tribute to the trail builders, 
designers, 
advocates, 
maintainers, 
users, 
volunteers and donors, 
when I say that you COULD go map-less. 
I would never consider such a feat, 
at least in my rookie year, 
but by maturing into a more seasoned hiker, 
I marvel at the simplicity of the trail, 
and with just a bit of trail sense, 
realize that the ol’ trail keeps going like the Ever-ready Rabbit. 
I am not feeling a need to be defensive, 
but to be more clear in what I meant. 
My habits as a rookie, 
were double and triple in redundancy. 
Fast forward to last year; 
mile # 695... 
I was west of Olancha Peak and east of a nondescript peak, 
both of which were easily discernable on the maps of Half Mile. 
I drew a straight line through the peaks and estimated that I was in the path of the line and on the trail at that exact point. 
It was a bit of an epiphany for I acknowledged that I finally grasped the usefulness and practicality of using a topo. map, 
and more importantly, 
the realization that I could actually read a map and tell well the hell I was in relation to the terrain, 
the map, 
and my physical position.

Best regards,

Time to eat!

PaintYW