White Blaze Pages vs AWOL?

[One Half]

I always see AWOL being recommended but recently saw a couple of posts about White Blaze Pages. I have AWOL from a couple of years ago.

Any one care to explain the differences, pros/cons of the 2?

[Slo-go'en]

I just got the Whitepages and since you asked for a review:

Whitepages is packed with info, very comprehensive. So much so that it is a bit hard to keep track of. The print is very small. The paperback book format is a also a little hard to use. Going through it with a couple of different color highlighters to separate trail data like shelter locations from town data would be helpful.

I don't see it as something I'd take along on the trail, but for planning it's a good resource and well worth the 10 bucks.

The AWOL guide is a bit more trail friendly. It's smaller and lighter and the Right to Left horizontal page layout is easier to pan then the traditional vertical layout. It's also easier to cut up into sections. The only bad thing I can say about it is it's a little too long to fit into a quart zip lock bag, so you have to fold it in half. Which is easier done if you break apart the book. To some extent the AWOL guide is being replaced by Guthook for on trail use, but the AWOL guide still has merit. I carry both.

[renais]

I've been hiking the AT since 2012, with two thru hikes (15 and19). As an avid book collector, I've purchased all the available guidebooks available each of the years I've gone out. All are good, but I've definitely come to appreciate Whitepages Guide as my best complement to Guthook. I used to use AWOL as a paper backup to Guthook, and for in town navigation and service identification. I would usually only use AWOL on the trail if I was planning for a few days in the future. I find that Whitepages has at least as much valuable information as does AWOL, but in addition has a lot of interesting tidbits about the trail and the area missing from other guides. I've been able to disassemble the Whitepages guide with little difficulty, and prefer the paper to that in AWOL: its perhaps a bit lighter, and seems to resist degradation in my pack a bit better. I hope Whitepages comes out in an electronic format in future years, and that the information is maintained at its current high standard. Frankly, any of the guides would be fine for me, but if I had to choose only one, it would now be Whitepages.

[tiptoe]

I can't speak about the Whiteblaze guide (I've not seen it), but I've been very pleased with AWOL's. As a section hiker, I like the unbound versions -- I take only the pages I'll be using. You also have a choice of northbound or southbound editions.

[rhjanes]

I've only seen the online version of the Whiteblaze book. I like how they have the ICON's along the pages so it at points, not just the camping areas.

On the AWOL, for Slo-Go'en and others. AWOL sells it in an unbound version. So the pages are all loose but they are in order and shrink wrapped when you get them. The pages are all numbered also. They include a heavy duty zip-lock style bag for the pages to be sealed into. The entire book actually fits in the bag. So no need to buy one and cut it up and search for a zip lock. You can bring what you want. Have someone mailing you additional pages. On my recent copy of AWOL, the only item that seems lightly aggravating to me, is finding the write ups on each town. There are places where the information on a town, begins on one page. Turn the page and there might or might not be more town information. A page or two after that, and there is more information on the town. Just something I noticed. And you can study it for days. Note that there is an elevation profile, in grey, running thru the center part of the pages.

[LazyLightning]

I used the unbound version of AWOL in 2018, having pages shipped as needed like mentioned above and it was perfect. The heavy duty bags are great and I bought a few extra, I think I went through 3 bags the whole thru hike. The bags are also clear on each side (no "ziplock" print) so you can always have 2 full pages of the elevation profile kept waterproof (kept mine in my pocket). Sometimes you need 2 pages in the bag to line it up or sometimes just one page if the next elevation chart is on the other side. I loved that system.

*edit - I folded the whole thing in half with the bag and fit right in my Columbia velcro pocket... then when adding a new page just get it in place and fold with the bag. Perfect.

[Nolan "Guido" Jordan]

I was thinking of asking the same question. I own an AT guide and just wondering about the pros and cons of WBP.

[One Half]

I was thinking of asking the same question. I own an AT guide and just wondering about the pros and cons of WBP.

I will likely just buy both as they are so cheap. Or maybe WBP now as I have an older version of AWOL and then maybe one or the other for next year unless I really think I need/want both.