What Appalachian Trail books should long distance hikers and prospective through-hikers have with them on the trail? What are the “must-have” books? Thanks.
Nunam Iqua
AT "must-have" books on the trail
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#2
I didn’t have no books or maps when I started AT in '89… found the Philosopher’s Guide & Databook in a hiker box & they came in real handy with the shelters, water locations & trail town setup… never did need the guidebooks since the white blazes were so almost continual… GB’s are best for the geological & historical descriptions; but the maps can be handy if you can afford them, as I found out acquiring them from hiker boxes etc…good luck diggety trail dogs & cats.
gingerbreadman
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#3
G: What is the “Philospher’s Guide and Databook” and where would I get one? Also, who is the author of this book? Thanks.
Nujnam Iqua
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#4
I think those are two seperate books. I remember the Databook, it was useful. Wingfoot’s book was good back in the day ('97) and the Companion has gotten more usage as recently as '02. The ATC can help you get most books. The A.T. Guide by Awol looks awesome, if websites are any indication.
Whatever you do, don’t use ANY 1989 editions and don’t believe anyone that calls themselves a philosopher.
space monkey
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#6
All you need is one of the data books that have mileage, water and town services.
The AT Companion is online for free and if you have a good printer you can create a very lightweight and small data sheet for each section.
Nada
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#7
I agree with Nada. It is very difficult to get lost on the AT, unless you can’t follow white blazes marked about ever 50 feet or so, and thus only need one of the data books.
MinuteMan
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#8
Just hiked the trail this year as a first time hiker with little experience. At first it was tough not hiking with maps, mainly because I was scared I was getting lost, but after the first two days I was very comfortable. It is impossible to get lost on the AT.
John Appleseed
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#9
“It is impossible to get lost on the AT”
Not true. You won’t find yourself lost in the wilderness for days unless you’re extremely stupid, but you can definitely get lost.
Jack
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#10
I hiked in '08 with the “AT Pages” book and my friend, who had hiked the AT before, had the ATC guidebook. Neither of us had maps. Maps were not necessary for us and we never got off trail, but others find them useful/necessary. Comparing both books as we hiked, we found either one would have been fine. Both had their strengths and weaknesses. So it really doesn’t matter what you use. If you can get something online for free, go for that.
Garlic
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#11
The best book that you can get for the money is “The AT Guide”. You can get it for either a northbound or southbound hike. Handy guide to have. It can be purchased through AWOL’s site at www.theATguide.com. This site does not only have the guide but a lot more that a “future” thruhiker may want to use.
drdick
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#12
I hiked with just maps and the companion. Eventually I got rid of the companion and kept the maps. If you can read a map you get a lot more useful information then from any guide. The companion was nice for going into town and finding stuff but almost all the towns could be seen on the maps and through word of mouth I was easily able to get the info I needed about each stop.
Big B
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#14
Okay, so the responses indicate three current books:
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“The AT Companion”, cited by NADA as free online. (Can anybody identify the website for me?)
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“The AT Pages”, cited by Garlic. (Where can I get this?)
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“The AT Guide” by AWOL, available for purchase from AWOL’s website.
Having hiked the AT before, I know the blazes are easy to follow. Primarily, I’m looking for current information regarding (1) where the water is, (2) the distances between shelters, and (3) the locations of nearby stores, post offices, hostels, and restaurants. Which book, or other materials, would be best for providing that information, in the most condensed form?
Thanks again to everybody. Your knowledge and experience, and willingness to share it, is making my life a lot easier.
Nunam Iqua
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#15
Y’know, the most invalueable medium for trail-conditions, hostel-prices, AYCE-availability and whatnot is actually the trail registers themselves. Plus you don’t have to carry one with you. What i do—leastwise, i did this on my Long Trail thru—wasjot info from registers in my journal.
Here’s the bummer folks—anything printed in the Companion, nice as it is, or AWOL’s book (his memoir is great, BTW) or Fudgefoot’s…err, Wingfoot’s book—every price, factoid or whatnot is automatically ONE YEAR out of date.
P.S. Data Book iz gooood, too 
Kineo Kid
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#18
Nothing is ever a perfect resource people; but with shelter, water, and town services information, plus everything else you need sans maps for FREE, the AT Companion is pretty good. Here is the current version which is updated every year:
http://www.aldha.org/comp_pdf.htm
JesusFreak
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#19
I can’t find the AT Pages now. It was new in 2008 and revised in 2009–maybe it didn’t make it this year. Or maybe I don’t remember the title right. I liked it because it had a profile printed on each page along with the data points. Any book is fine.
Garlic
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#20
I just found a 2008 databook at the Borders here in Houston; I either used a 40% off coupon or got it on clearance shelf for a few bucks… if you have a couple in your party, one could carry the databook, one could carry the AT companion, one could carry the wingfoot & then compare descriptions etc… perhaps each has it’s own strengths… DON’T DIS THE PHILOSOPHER! (I don’t remember who it was, but helped save alot of time in the towns.) PS: If you use hiking poles, they can double as bear pokers, so you don’t have to sharpen a stick like dual survival duo does!
gingerbreadman