What are people recommending for a 2015 guide/data book, and does anyone know when the AWOL 2015 version will come out and how to get it?
What are people recommending for a 2015 guide/data book, and does anyone know when the AWOL 2015 version will come out and how to get it?
GDW
AWOL's AT Guide comes out in January. I'll be buying my 3rd copy, I buy a new one every 2 or 3 years.
More info here: http://www.theatguide.com
"Chainsaw" GA-ME 2011
I have always used the AT Compannion on both my NOBO's and the Data Book on my 96 flip-flop the AT Compannion has never failed me, I order a Compannion every year, i got a collection of them.
I would suggest any body that does any kind of Hiking on the AT to use the AT Compannion.
I think I'm going with the PDF version of AWOL's guide loaded onto my phone
I have gotten both, and I prefer the AT Guide. It has more of the specific hiking location/map information that I like to see.
Another vote for the AT Guide by AWOL. There are tons of useful guides out there, but in my experience the AT Guide has been the go to on the trail for its ease of use/plentiful information. I haven't tried using the .pdf version, as I like to mark up the guide as I go.
The one who follows the crowd, will usually get no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone, is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been.
-Albert Einstein
Awol's guide is smaller and lighter than the Companion. and a better guide
AWOL's guide + official ATC maps for me. Just seemed to really nail locations: springs, shelters, roads, etc. The maps helped to visualize bail points, if needed. I didn't/don't mind those few ounces.
I'm getting 3 for 2016 - one for me, one for the wife and one for my dad to follow along. I cut mine into about 3-4 sections and my wife mails the sections and state maps as needed.
Old Hiker
AT Hike 2012 - 497 Miles of 2184
AT Thru Hiker - 29 FEB - 03 OCT 2016 2189.1 miles
Just because my teeth are showing, does NOT mean I'm smiling.
Hányszor lennél inkább máshol?
Another +1 for the AWOL guide. IMO more info and a better format than the companion.
AWOL gets my vote.
I have the 2014 Awol Guide which I used for the very limited planning I've made but for the walk. But since I don't have the luxury of having family handy to post things to me, I would have to either carry it or use a bounce box, so I'm using the AT App from Guthook on my Samsung phone.
http://www.guthookhikes.com/apps .
It's gotten pretty good reviews and the demo looks good.
"He was a wise man who invented beer." Plato
AWOL is the standard for guides and a very good one. I always liked Wingfoot's as well, back in the day.
"I told my Ma's and Pa's I was coming to them mountains and they acted as if they was gutshot. Ma, I sez's, them mountains is the marrow of the world and by God, I was right". Del Gue
AWOL is an excellent guidebook, primarily in terms of services. There were a few spots along trail where I felt the ATC guide would have provided more solid data on specifying where I was at any given moment. For instance, there was a slice of PA where AWOL denotes "crosses forest service road several times." I swear I crossed that service road a dozen times over the course of an hour, eventually questioning whether I was in purgatory.
AWOL combined with vigilance in not getting yourself turned around are an excellent combination to navigate a thru-hike
I'd like to go against the tide and, along with RED-DOG, recommend the ATC's Thru-Hiker Companion. I have recent copies of both AWOL's guide (2013) and the Thru-Hiker Companion (2014) and I have found the later to be FAR more informative. One major difference is that AWOL's guide uses icons to denote things along the trail, whereas the Thru-Hiker Companion uses [admittedly less-intuitive] letter abbreviations to do so, but in well-organized tables at the beginning of each trail section.
Once you get used to the abbreviations, however, you find that there is an enormous amount of information compressed into the guide, including a lot of historical info and more info about the hostels and services than AWOL's guide has.
Also, because the Thru-hiker Companion is still the only such guide written by [more that 3 dozen thru-hiker] volunteers each year, for which all the proceeds are returned to the Trail by the two nonprofits that produce the guide (The Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association), you are supporting these non-profits by purchasing their guide. And, in case you haven't checked out the latest edition, the Thru-hiker Companion has much better elevation profiles than AWOL's guide.
"In proportion as [man] ...simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness." – Thoreau
I've put both on my Kindle and will decide which I like more on the trail ... Also can't hurt to have a second opinion in tricky spots.
Thanks Red Dog.
It seems many don't realize the Thru-Hikers' Companion now has elevation profiles (which were professionally drafted at great expense) which for the past few years, has been, the number one reason hikers have said the used the AT Guide.
Other than that, the 2015 Companion will have completely restyled tables with more data points and added features (however, we won't list every seasonal water source that's bound to be dry when you arrive). It will also have new town maps, and more of them, for towns hikers are likely to resupply.
True, it is a bit bigger and heavier than the AT Guide, however, it will also be constructed so each major section (south, Virginia, mid-Atlantic and New England) will be a book within itself, so carrying each will only be a matter of 50 pages. There's also a way each that each booklet stays intact and can be rebound. (more on that later)
AT hikers should keep in mind that all proceeds of the Thru-Hikers' Companion goes to the ATC, and with government funding the way it is, they need all the cash they can get.
Added: I see MikeN has covered many of the bases I just mentioned. Thank you!
BTW, the ATC is accepting pre-orders for the 2015 Thru-Hikers' Companion of 20% off until they become available in mid-December.
https://www.atctrailstore.org/catalo...d=791&compid=1
Last edited by Sly; 11-19-2014 at 13:50.
Is there a ebook version of the Companion?
There's a PDF available. ALDHA members ($10) get it for free. So if you join now (membership good through 2015) you can get the 2014 edition, and the 2015 PDF when it becomes available late December or early January. Non-member price is $8 but you'll get 2014 now and have to pay again for the 2015 edition.
See the link in my sig.
So I bought a NOBO version of AWOL's but now I've decided to go SOBO and was wondering if I should bother buying a SOBO version is worth it or do I just start in the back of the book?