General Preparation for the AT (Main query: Maps)

[L-dawg]

I think they need the flight numbers to check and see if your flight has been delayed. And thanks for posting what they said about Christmas- I tried to book a reservation online, and she e-mailed me back about a month ago, saying they didn't even have their calender for next year up yet, and she'd book me a bit closer to February- maybe I should call her in person.

Hi ShelterLeopard, I thought id quote you one of the replies I got from The Hiker Hostel to hammer home what I said (and for anyone else reading):

[10/08/09]

We are busy in the thru hiker season, so booking as soon as you have your flight would be suggested. Our price will remain the same for next season As fore payment no deposit is required. We will take payment when you arrive. And we do take credit card.

Josh Saint

Hope this helps!

[Jack Tarlin]

L-Dawg:

Right now I think the ATC maps are the best ones out there, and several of them have been completely re-done in the past year or two. If you go to the "Ultimate Trail Store" section of www.appalachiantrail.org you'll see details on ordering; you'll also see that the whole set goes on sale every year at great savings, usually around late November. You also might be able to find a good used set On-Line, here on Whiteblaze or E-Bay, or elsewhere. (Just make sure the set is complete and comparatively recent!)

[veteran]

[QUOTE=L-dawg; I'm just intrigued to know if there are any map-alternatives [/QUOTE]

The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club has a very nice set of AT maps for their area.
http://www.patc.us/store/map.htm

Georgia Hikes has a set of online maps for the state of Georgia.
http://www.georgiahikes.com/main.asp

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville has a wealth of info on the AT, including TOPO & Road Maps of the shelter areas.
http://www.cs.utk.edu/~dunigan/at/

The ATC Interactive Trail Map
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site...active_Map.htm

[futureatwalker]

1) I can't comment on tarp tents, as I haven't used one yet. I have a one-man Eureka thing that ways about 3 lbs, but this won't be suitable for more than one person. If I were leaving next season, I would buy the MSR Hubba.

2) Josh and Leigh at the Hiker Hostel are great. You might be able to get a lift from an outfitter - REI - on the edge of Atlanta (and you can get the train from the airport there). I can't remember the name of the stop.

3) I liked the Appalachian Trail Conference maps - at least for Georgia and North Carolina. As you'll soon see, what you will be concerned about is elevation, water sources, and where the shelter/camping areas are (although there are lots of unofficial areas where you can pitch your tent). You don't need ordinace survey 1:25,000 resolution... the trail is well marked.

4) If I were leaving next year, I'd leave on April 1 or April 15. Winter, in my experience, is a lot harsher in the US than the UK. It can be much, much colder. Leaving in February means you are winter hiking. I would be prepared for, relative to the UK, really cold temps (-10C easy). A warm bag, down jacket, etc., are absolutely essential if you are leaving in February. As a very rough guide, I would say the late February in the UK is equal to early April in the Appalachians.... ok, not quite this, but close.

[Feral Bill]

So, if you have topo maps, why even look at profiles? They're only really useful if you don't have or can't read the topos. We can all read a topo map, can't we?

[bigcranky]

Sure, but the profiles are a quicker read.

[rickb]

If you go to the "Ultimate Trail Store" section of www.appalachiantrail.org you'll see details on ordering; you'll also see that the whole set goes on sale every year at great savings, usually around late November.

Kind of sort of.

Others will correct me if I am wrong, but to my understanding what you get in the November sale is a package which includes all the maps (which you will want), a data book (which you might want, probably not), and a set of section books (which you may not want at all)-- all for just a few dollars more than the price of the maps alone.

Basically you get all the section books for free.

Few thru hikers (very few) will carry the section books on their hikes. My guess is that most are left unread. Better for section hikers or people who will return to the AT over and over, than for someone living abroad I think.

They do have some interesting natural history tidbits and such in them, if you want to collect such stuff. But most purchased by thru hikers will go completely unread, I think.

[Jack Tarlin]

Kind of, sort of?

Weell, sure, I guess. But I like to save money when I can.

The whole map set, at present, is around $207.00. It's $165.45 if you're an ATC member. In that the special isn't going on right now, I can't quote you a price, but I bet it's something better thatn $207.00, so those wanting a whole map set might want to wait til the special is announced in a few weeks.
You'll probably save some money.

And if I'm mistaken about prices, then I'm quite sure Rick will be right there to correct me. He sorta thrives on this.

[rickb]

Not sure why you need to personalize this, Jack.

If I didn't think what I posted was correct, I wouldn't have posted it.

[Jack Tarlin]

You think I'm the one personalizing it, Rick?

Christ, you're funny. You go to the bother of quoting me above, then cutely say that I'm kind of, sort of correct.

Meaning I'm probably kind of, sort of wrong.

Rick, you're one of about five people here who doesn't have a lot to say a lot of the time except a whole boatload of your posts seem to be directed my way.

In short, you like giving me grief, you like disagreeing with me at every opportunity, and you practically have it off in your trousers if you think I've made a mistake.

So gimme a break with the "How dare you personalize this!!"

YOU personalized it with your "Kind of, sort of" wisecrack, which was obviously aimed at me.

So lighten up.

I'm not gonna go back and forth with you on this one cuz it's a pretty stupid argument. I think people can save a bit of money if they wait a few weeks and buy the maps all at once. Ricks says maybe not. As I've already mentioned, I don't know what the prices are gonna be this year, but I still think it's worthwhile to wait and take advantage of the annual "special", especially if one is an ATC member. And if I'm wrong, and the savings aren't worth it, then I'll happily say so; some of us here don't have a problem admitting when they mis-speak.

I think this one's about done.

[L-dawg]

You think I'm the one personalizing it, Rick?

Christ, you're funny. You go to the bother of quoting me above, then cutely say that I'm kind of, sort of correct.

Meaning I'm probably kind of, sort of wrong.

Rick, you're one of about five people here who doesn't have a lot to say a lot of the time except a whole boatload of your posts seem to be directed my way.

In short, you like giving me grief, you like disagreeing with me at every opportunity, and you practically have it off in your trousers if you think I've made a mistake.

So gimme a break with the "How dare you personalize this!!"

YOU personalized it with your "Kind of, sort of" wisecrack, which was obviously aimed at me.

So lighten up.

I'm not gonna go back and forth with you on this one cuz it's a pretty stupid argument. I think people can save a bit of money if they wait a few weeks and buy the maps all at once. Ricks says maybe not. As I've already mentioned, I don't know what the prices are gonna be this year, but I still think it's worthwhile to wait and take advantage of the annual "special", especially if one is an ATC member. And if I'm wrong, and the savings aren't worth it, then I'll happily say so; some of us here don't have a problem admitting when they mis-speak.

I think this one's about done.

OK OK. The point is that you are both meant to be giving me advise (and you both have been very helpful, especially Jack), so try and curb this personal issue you guys have and continue helping me out!

Plus, even if you two are quabbling because the differences in your personailities comes through on a forum site (?), you are still both sharing a love and passion for something that a lot of people consider unique?

Thank you for your advise on possible reductions on the ATC website Jack. If you could post on here if and when you find out that would be awesome! Rick, I saw that the box set came with a couple of guides which I doubt me and my girlfriend will slog around with us, however they would be nice to read. In general, what kind of stuff do these contain? Shelter locations, town maps, a description of the trail and the sites you will see in this section?

futureatwalker, thanks for hammering home a few points. Maps are my main concern and you've helped me get over my fear of the poor scales! As for water and shelters, I guess I can find some other book which contains all of this information that will supplement all the maps (in fact, I think I already have such a book). In the opinion of a few shop owners I've talked to, the Hubba Hubba is an excellent 2-man-tent, but isn't good for the wet and damp british weather (which will be its second use). Also, I think winter hiking will be wicked I mean, yeah its going to be cold and wet, and we will have to splash out on a bit of extra gear, but the benefits outweigh the cons... Firstly, me and my girlfriend want to spend some time alone on the trail before It gets busy, and I presume this will be the case if we leave early. Secondly, I think the appalachians will be beautiful in the late Winter (we very rarely get snow in Britain nowadays). I think you post is good advise to those we aren't up (or expecting) sub zero temperatures. I am buying a Mountain Hardwear SL Sub Zero Hooded Down Jacket (http://www.altrec.com/mountain-hardw...ed-down-jacket) in a few days. This with some base layers (microfleece's etc) should keep me warm during late Feb and early March. If you have any advise on this purchase that would be most appreciated, futureatwalke or anyone. It's $270-ish RRP, but I am buying it second hand for £90=$145, so factor this into any comments!

Feral Bill, I am not really sure what you meant there, if you could ellaborate that would be amazing.

Thanks again to everyone!

L-dawg

[David@whiteblaze]

October? well... i am planning a 2013 thru and am hoping to start march 15 and finish by late August, early September to meet up with my folks. So, unless i missed something here, you should be able to smell ALL the roses (which is great). Good luck, HYOH, YMMV, and all that gibberrish

[rickb]

Rick, I saw that the box set came with a couple of guides which I doubt me and my girlfriend will slog around with us, however they would be nice to read. In general, what kind of stuff do these contain? Shelter locations, town maps, a description of the trail and the sites you will see in this section?

If you wait for the sale, you will get something like 11 Official guide books for the AT along with your maps, for just a few dollars more the the price of the maps alone. I think they also throw in a Data Book.

Most of the information in these Official Guide Books books is the mileage data like the ATC summarizes in the Data Book, but with more mileage points and additional commentary at each mileage point like "11.8 miles -- Descend steeply over ledge for .01 m then less steeply into valley. Views are Striking". There are many more mileage points listed than in the Data Book.

These Official Guide Books will also provide a very limited amount of information on the history of the area, blue blaze mileage and such. They provide some town info, but not much detail on that. To my way of thinking, they are best if you are doing a small section of Trail and want to get an overview a particular stretch of Trail. Some thru hikers like them. My guess is most who get them "free" never use them. YMMV.

Which takes us to the Databook. It collects the most important mileage points such as road crossings and shelter locations together. Plenty for a thru hiker. It will also note how many miles food, lodging or a PO is down a road crossing.

Which then takes us to the Thru Hikers Companion, or Handbook or Appalachian Pages. These three books have all mileage data contained in the Data Book, plus the town information most people want. Most hikers find one of these three to be essential.

[veteran]

QUOTE=L-dawg; As for water and shelters, I guess I can find some
other book which contains all of this information that will supplement all
the maps (in fact, I think I already have such a book).

The 2009 “Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers’ Companion.” Is an excellent source of
information about trail data, (shelters, water, roads, towns) etc. There is an online
edition of the Companion: http://www.aldha.org/comp_pdf.htm

[Jack Tarlin]

I agree with Rick that in all likelihood, you will NOT want to be travelling/hiking with the ATC Trail Guidebooks. You'll probably be hiking with one or perhaps two maps at a time, and also, one of the three annually issued Trail guidebooks, either The Thru-Hiker's Companion; the Thru-Hiker's Handbook; or Appalachian Pages. All three are updated every year and usually come out by mid-January; they are very similar so it probably doesn't matter which one you decide to use. If you want a look at a Trail Guide now, or if you wish to make use of one before January, you can check out and see what the Companion looks like by going to www.aldha.org where they offer a free On-Line edition.

[Blissful]

Hikers from this past year will undoubtedly sell their map sets. Wait for that or look on ebay, etc. And I would also look at outdoor shops. I got several maps in a discounted bin area.

[rickb]

The ATC Guidebook Special is on now, thru December 21st.

Details below:

https://www.atctrailstore.org/catalo...id=69&compid=1