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hey everyone..today I sent off for wingfoots hiker hand book. can anyone tell me how useful it will be to a sobo hike .I heard it is easier to follow then the others so thats why I chose to go with it..any feed back?
cannonball
09-08-2006, 18:40
hey everyone..today I sent off for wingfoots hiker hand book. can anyone tell me how useful it will be to a sobo hike .I heard it is easier to follow then the others so thats why I chose to go with it..any feed back?
You will find yourself "reading it backwards" as the info is laid out for Northbounders. Never the less it should prove to be a useful resource.
It is what it is. I found it to be helpful, with quite a few mistakes. Consider looking at the other guides that support the ALDHA and/or ATC. I think that those organizations would be better to $upport.
Smile, I am a ATC member and will be purchaseing the companion and data books also . was just wondering if I would find wingfoots more useable for a sobo. but I understand what your saying..I just want to be prepared with all the proper information. and was asking personal opinions to those that have used it..I have heard good and bad on both accounts..thx
hopefulhiker
09-08-2006, 19:49
I tore his book up and took the several sheets at a time.. It was very useful. Although some people called it WingNuts book when he was wrong about something...
Pacific Tortuga
09-08-2006, 20:10
I tore his book up and took the several sheets at a time.. It was very useful. Although some people called it WingNuts book when he was wrong about something...
How much of a wildernous experience would it be if all the hanbooks told you where every nook, cranny, and water source was ? As it is one follows a white blaze, many without maps or a compass.To take ALL the guess work out of hiking a trail would be a trail I would avoid, to each their own.
How much of a wildernous experience would it be if all the hanbooks told you where every nook, cranny, and water source was ? As it is one follows a white blaze, many without maps or a compass.To take ALL the guess work out of hiking a trail would be a trail I would avoid, to each their own.
No guidebooks, no maps (nooks, crannies, water sources)? That's a trail I'll avoid.
StarLyte
09-08-2006, 21:23
I tore his book up and took the several sheets at a time.. It was very useful. Although some people called it WingNuts book when he was wrong about something...
Maybe something just needed to be updated.
Jack Tarlin
09-09-2006, 15:27
The Thru Hiker's Handbook will do you just fine. A few things to keep in mind:
* The author has done very little, if any, backpacking on the A.T. in more than a decade. Not every place he's speaking about has been visited, or even seen by himself first hand. Keep this in mind.
*The descriptive material, especially for towns and Trailside businesses, was compiled in the fall of 2005, in order to get the book published by the following January. This means that some of the information you'll be reading has neither been conformed nor fact-checked in over a year. So be aware of this. Businesses come and go. Some of the places mentioned in the book may have closed, or may be under new ownership/management, with different policies than what your guidebooks might tell you. Some may be closed for the season when you get there. Some may have changed their policies, i.e. thru-hiker discounts you expect are no longer given, or maybe a place that welcomed hikers no longer does so. In many cases, prices may have changed, and they NEVER go down. Prices always seem to go up on the Trail, so whatever you budget for your trip, add 10-15% at least, especially when talking about hostels and motels.
Lastly, Smile mentioned that he'd discovered several errors in the Handbook. I think it'd be usefdul if he pased these along, in fact, I wish someone from the Class of '06 would start a thread on this very subject; it'd be very instructive for next year's hikers.
ok Jack.on that note then how does the companion compare? would the same be true for it?:-?
Jack Tarlin
09-09-2006, 16:30
You put me in a rough spot.
First off, I like the fact that the Companion is published by the ATC and ALDHA, and both of these fine organizations derive income from sale of the book.
And the Companion gets better each and every year. (In the interests of full
disclosure, I should mention that my being one of the Companion's editors has little to do with it's improvement over the years!)
This being said, most folks still prefer the Handbook, which seems to have more information (especially on such things as shelters and campsites). Also, I think the maps in the Handbook are superior, at least for the moment.
That being said, there has been growing commentary in recent years over the accuracy of the Handbook. Personally, I think it's pretty good, but the fact of the matter is that the author of the Handbook has done very little long-distance backpacking in the past 13 years, and it's starting to show. This is especially true when it comes to Trailside businesses, facilities, and hostels. Most of the places he stayed at as a hiker no longer exist; most of the places that cater to hikers now, including many of the most popular, are
unknown to him personally, i.e. he's never actually set foot in them or persoanlly met the proprietors or inspected/patronized the facilities. The Companion, on the other hand, has many regional editors in charge of specific sections;many of them are recent thru-hikers, or they actually live in the areas they're writing about. It is inevitable that they'll be speaking more knowledgably and accurately about the places in their respective sections.
But all in all, both books are fine, and I don't think it really matters which one you elect to use. Every year, I consult both.
Sly: No guidebooks, no maps (nooks, crannies, water sources)? That's a trail I'll avoid.
I'm with ya there Sly.
I wish someone from the Class of '06 would start a thread on this very subject; it'd be very instructive for next year's hikers.
Great idea, I didn't hike the entire thing, but will start a thread :)
freefall
09-09-2006, 18:02
....but for NOBO no problem. If you have the Handbook, someone else will have the Data book, Companion, etc.... Often we would swap books for a bit and compare information. It seems there was only one or two instances where both the Data book and the Handbook were wrong on the same thing.
ok..well I know that I will have the handbook..so which other should I carry? either the data book or the companion..surely not all 3...??:-?
Footslogger
09-09-2006, 22:38
From my experience you can't (or maybe shouldn't) read/follow any of them too closely. Personally, I find the greatest value of the books (Thru-hiker Handbook and ALDHA Companion) to be the information about shelters/towns/points of interest. The rest is too subject to change.
I mean ...how many times do you need to know about the stream that you will be crossing a dozen times over the next couple miles. Actually it gets a little confusing trying to keep track.
'Slogger