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  1. #41

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    Thanks F-Stop for thinking to make this thread., I didnt realize that with all the planning i have done i have not really thought about which guidebook i was going to buy.

    I did just now buy AWOLs AT Guide. But because i believe in the ATC I am going to buy some things from them too.

  2. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by canoehead View Post
    The Bible & AT Guide. I can use the AT guide for fire starter material after I'm done with it. I love gear that has multi uses.
    I agree, you can't believe how many bibles i have burned

  3. #43
    Registered User Sickmont's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WingedMonkey View Post
    I agree, you can't believe how many bibles i have burned
    How about Korans? Ever light a few of those up?
    Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time. - Steven Wright

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sickmont View Post
    How about Korans? Ever light a few of those up?
    Yes is is missing a few pages

  5. #45
    Registered User Sickmont's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WingedMonkey View Post
    Yes is is missing a few pages
    Ya, i heard they burn hotter and faster than the others.....
    Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time. - Steven Wright

  6. #46
    Not committing until I graduate! Sassafras Lass's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sickmont View Post
    How about Korans? Ever light a few of those up?
    So much for religious tolerance . . .
    Formerly 'F-Stop'

    If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one.

    ~ Dolly Parton

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    Quote Originally Posted by F-Stop View Post
    Ha - thanks everyone. Looks like we're getting the AT Guide and will supplement with info from our '10 Data Book and '10 Companion (verified via internet, of course)
    F-Stop -- I think w/one of the full guidbooks you'll find the Data Book largely redundant. Also, the organization of the Data Book is different - it restarts at 0 miles for each "section" which makes it hard to talk about it/relate it the guidebooks that use cumulative mileage. Folks who had the data book only (I realize this isn't your plan) were often asking for phone numbers or information about towns that folks w/the AT Guide or other full guide books had. When discussing things we heard about up ahead, most people could say oh, near mile 1600 and we could all relate, but the folks w/the Data Book were on a different reference system and it was not as easy/convienient. What I'm saying is, I don't expect the Data Book to be of much use to you.

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    Most of what people here refer to as guide books are little more than directories of hiker services.

  9. #49
    Not committing until I graduate! Sassafras Lass's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by malowitz View Post
    F-Stop -- I think w/one of the full guidbooks you'll find the Data Book largely redundant. Also, the organization of the Data Book is different - it restarts at 0 miles for each "section" which makes it hard to talk about it/relate it the guidebooks that use cumulative mileage. Folks who had the data book only (I realize this isn't your plan) were often asking for phone numbers or information about towns that folks w/the AT Guide or other full guide books had. When discussing things we heard about up ahead, most people could say oh, near mile 1600 and we could all relate, but the folks w/the Data Book were on a different reference system and it was not as easy/convienient. What I'm saying is, I don't expect the Data Book to be of much use to you.
    Gotcha, thank you - we ordered AWOL on the Appalachian Trail and the AT Guide 2011 this morning off Amazon - both free super saving shipping if anyone still needs them

    Another Q - do the guidebooks list enough of the interesting and historical sites near the AT, or should I do some exhaustive internet research to find those?
    Formerly 'F-Stop'

    If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one.

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  10. #50

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    Quote Originally Posted by F-Stop View Post

    Another Q - do the guidebooks list enough of the interesting and historical sites near the AT, or should I do some exhaustive internet research to find those?
    Sure you could do an exhaustive internet search or get yourself a Thru-hikers' Companion!

  11. #51

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    Quote Originally Posted by emerald View Post
    Most of what people here refer to as guide books are little more than directories of hiker services.
    Little more? Considering the AT is the an extremely well marked trail, what do you think a guide book should be?

  12. #52
    Not committing until I graduate! Sassafras Lass's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sly View Post
    Sure you could do an exhaustive internet search or get yourself a Thru-hikers' Companion!
    We have the 2010 Companion - that's what I'm using to draw up a tentative resupply schedule - and I'm using that to supplement my '11 AT Guide - does the AT Guide include the same points of interest that the Companion does?
    Formerly 'F-Stop'

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  13. #53
    Author, Awol on the Appalachian Trail
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    Quote Originally Posted by F-Stop View Post
    We have the 2010 Companion - that's what I'm using to draw up a tentative resupply schedule - and I'm using that to supplement my '11 AT Guide - does the AT Guide include the same points of interest that the Companion does?
    The A.T. Guide and the Companion do not have all the same "points of interest," like road crossings, trail crossings, summits, gaps and water sources. There are about 800 more of these listed in The A.T. Guide.

    You also had a question about historic landmarks. Rarely does The AT Guide provide any discussion of the history behind places on the trail. In the future I'll probably add more as space permits, but I'm intent on keeping the book trim. The Companion, as you've seen by now, usually does have a paragraph or two about historic landmarks.

    http://www.theatguide.com/CompareCompanion.html

    There's a significant amount of material already waiting on the trail for those who pause to read it. Often there's a plaque describing what you're looking at (eg: Ottie Cline memorial). You'll pass many park visitor centers that'd love to have you stop in for a while. Every hut in the Whites has a bookself of material for you (guest or not); same for many hostels.

  14. #54
    Not committing until I graduate! Sassafras Lass's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Awol2003 View Post
    The A.T. Guide and the Companion do not have all the same "points of interest," like road crossings, trail crossings, summits, gaps and water sources. There are about 800 more of these listed in The A.T. Guide.

    You also had a question about historic landmarks. Rarely does The AT Guide provide any discussion of the history behind places on the trail. In the future I'll probably add more as space permits, but I'm intent on keeping the book trim. The Companion, as you've seen by now, usually does have a paragraph or two about historic landmarks.

    http://www.theatguide.com/CompareCompanion.html

    There's a significant amount of material already waiting on the trail for those who pause to read it. Often there's a plaque describing what you're looking at (eg: Ottie Cline memorial). You'll pass many park visitor centers that'd love to have you stop in for a while. Every hut in the Whites has a bookself of material for you (guest or not); same for many hostels.
    Gotcha - thanks for the reply, and I look forward to reading your books!
    Formerly 'F-Stop'

    If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one.

    ~ Dolly Parton

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sly View Post
    Considering the AT is the an extremely well marked trail, what do you think a guide book should be?
    An A.T. guide book should be more than a telephone book and the equivalent of those green signs we see along highways, it should serve to interpret the natural and cultural history of the region through which it passes or at least direct readers to other resources online and elsewhere which provide this information for those who desire it.

    Were I to carry contact information for service providers at all, it would be stored in an electronic device. Should it fail, I would simply ask someone when I got to the next town just as hikers did before this new generation of guides became available.

    ATC publishes the kind guides to which I refer, but we tell people they don't need them. My concern is that while we add more 2000 milers every year, we are not doing what we might to impress upon them the the full value of the A.T. It is so much more than simply a place to take a walk in the woods.

  16. #56
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    Default Awol's AT Guide has arrived!

    Quote Originally Posted by emerald View Post
    An A.T. guide book should be more than a telephone book and the equivalent of those green signs we see along highways, it should serve to interpret the natural and cultural history of the region through which it passes or at least direct readers to other resources online and elsewhere which provide this information for those who desire it.

    .
    I know what you are saying Emerald.
    I just recieved my AT Guide by Awol and I would describe it as a Data Book. It is excellant and the format is easy to use and thats what I expected.
    When I think of guide books for other trails: The Wilderness Press guides for the PCT, The Wolf Guides for the CDT, they not only have a written description of the route along with the maps (Wolf Guides have just overview maps) but also historical and natural information about the landscape the trail traverses.
    That being said I am glad to find the AT guide is a simple data book. Personally i would rather carry historical and natural history in a separate book.
    That was one of the main complaints about the Wilderness press guides for the PCT was you had to wade through a long winded description interspersed with trail info on different pages so that when cut up for resupplies the page with the map could be two pages away from the relevant description.. most hikers found it too cumbersome and simply ignore the written stuff and use the maps from the books.
    Many more still are simply using Half miles maps, or Eric the Black's book, or Postholer maps all of which are without descriptions found in a true guidebook.
    Many PCT hikers also carry the Data guide by Benjamin Go and it is very similar to the AT guide I just recieved (except for elevation profiles).
    The Wolf Guides for the CDT have a great balance as the trail description and other data are kept separate from each other in the guide. The downside is a full set of Wolf guides is 170 bucks so you really aren't likely to be cutting them up into sections for resupplies.
    This begin my third trail in as many years i have had a crash course in "guide" books and you are correct in saying that what most people are calling a guidebook is really a Data book.

    By the way.. I am super impressed with my AT guide by Awol. I especially like the ziplock bag that came with it.. thats cute! The format has town info pages separated by data pages with a full page elevation profile in the background. It's a really slick format and I am very glad I got it.
    And just to piss off the anti-UL crowd i weighed the data guide.. it comes out to 8 ounces in the ziplock.. Hmm I might switch the ziplock to a cuben fiber baggie.. Just funnin Ya!
    Headed in to town.. You gotta rock the down! -fellow hikers mantra

  17. #57
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    Default One more thing...

    Yogi's town guides(PCT and CDT) also have data for the trail. If you are going to hike either of those trails I very highly recommend Yogi's books first before you buy any other guides.
    Because:
    #1 You are going to want a detailed town guide to aid your resupply strategy whatever that may be.
    #2 Yogi's planning book (comes with town guide) has all the sources of maps and other guides and data books listed by source as well as the opinions of many past and present hikers that used them.
    PCThandbook.com
    So if i were to hike either the PCT or CDT again and could take only one book it would be the Yogi guide.
    Headed in to town.. You gotta rock the down! -fellow hikers mantra

  18. #58
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    Having used all 3, I'll stick with the A.T. Guide. The elevation profiles don't seem quite accurate, but the town info for maildrops and planning accomodations is invaluable.

  19. #59
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    At guide.the best!

  20. #60
    The perpetual thru-hiker!
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    Quote Originally Posted by WingedMonkey View Post
    I agree, you can't believe how many bibles i have burned
    If you get a really old one with the rice paper pages they make great rolling papers. It's always fun to try to find just the right verse for the occasion.

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