anyone know when the new guidebooks will be published for 2004? the databook + companion?
Bloody Cactus
Guidebooks - Appalachian Trail
system
#2
hmm i just saw (slow page load) on atctrailstore that the databook is due in december and the companion is due in january… hmm seems a bit later than last year…
Bloody Cactus
system
#3
The ATC is advertizing their annual thru-hiker special on guidebooks and maps. Buy now if you want to take advantage of it.
Peaks
system
#5
Before you buy either Wingfoot’s handbook or the ALDHA/ATC Companion, I suggest that you look at both. Wingfoot has sample pages on his website, and the Companion is on the ALDHA website.
On an information basis, each has their own style, and good points.
If you are not already aware, buying Wingfoot supports on individual. Buy the Companion supports the work of the ATC and ALDHA which benefits all AT hikers
Peaks
system
#6
I recall reading about a Guidebook that came out late and ended up being released after the season had begun. Does anyone recall this? And if so, what Guide is it? I sure would be upset if I spent $250 bucks on a Guide that came after I began the trek.
I think I would find it most useful for pre-planning.
Dawg
Dawgtrekker
system
#7
I believe Wingfoots book was late getting published one year. It is only about $15 U.S. though not $250! Wingfoot has done much to further Appalachian Trail awareness and his webpage is helpful to the inexperienced person when they begin planning. The guide was superior to the ATC book at almost every level. It runs north to south the ATC runs south to north. This may seem like a minor detail but after 25 or 30 miles of walking north do you think you’ll feel like doing the math to figure out where that spring is? I didn’t. I liked the convience of just looking at the milage listed in the direction I was going! It is a personal choice so check them both out. I was just relaying what worked for me on my hike!
Yo-YO
system
#8
It might make you feel good to help out the better entity now, but if you’re out in the woods near the end of a long day and want to figure out where to crash for the evening, you just care about which is the better book. Wingfoot gets my vote, I started out with one and kept it the whole way (cut into fourths though.) A lot of people switched guides along the way, I don’t remember anyone switching from wingfoot’s book. Plenty of people criticize Wingfoot on the trail, but it seems to me like his has all the info that’s in the data book, plus plenty extra stuff. Though like almost anything else on the trail, it’s a personal choice.
Skittles