Buy the book, please!

[cushetunk]

Now it has become too easy to just ask a question here and happily traipse off into the woods without being fully prepared. [...]

Please, buy a guidebook, people! VFTT members are a great resource to have but we can't take the place of everything you can learn by physically turning the pages yourself.

Oh, it's just walking around in the woods. It's not as though all those people happily traipsing off into the woods are dropping like flies because they posted a question on VFTT instead of reading the White Mountain Guide. This seems, like the thread about removing blazes, another chance to imagine hoards of unprepared hikers wandering cluelessly through the deepest eastern backcountry, ever on the brink of disaster and a massive, life-threatening rescue operation. It's amazing anyone ever returns from that daunting terrible landscape!

Anyway, if those basic types of questions are still being asked here, someone must be answering them!

Happy traipsing everyone!

 

[TEO]

got an example of where it does that?
[snip]
So sometimes, you have to do a little math to get the total distance/elevation gain to a particular summit if it involves multiple trails.

Off the top of my head, no. But, I do remember getting a very odd number for total vertical when doing that little math that you mention. I very well could be wrong. I'll try to remember to check this evening.

Relative to Albee's most recent remarks, unless they now plow Tripoli Road, it is not open in winter. If you're going to use the past tense "was," then you should specify a time, i.e "Tripoli Road was not open this last winter." When you say "Tripoli Road wasn't open in winter," you're being not only vague --you could be implying that that is no longer the case--but it is incorrect, the road will be closed in the coming winters.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Um, last time I checked Tripoli Road WASN'T open in winter...

For the past two winters, Tripoli Road has been part of the groomed trail system at the Waterville Valley Nordic Center. Especially two winters ago, it was the only 'trail' with enough snow cover to groom.

For at least the past 10 winters, the lower section, from the Livermore Lot, has been part of that trail system. It may, or may not, have been plowed above the gate, but I've never seen it plowed at the Y by the Osceola Vista Campground.

Tim

 

[sapblatt]

Something nobody has pointed out is that the guide book is only good if you can read.
If 14% of the people are "functionally illiterate" (or you chose a better term) then the guide book won't be too useful for them and a forum like this a better place to start.

-Dr. Wu

How do they read the posts here if they cannot read a book?

 

[Puck]

Trying to look on the bright side.

What is the problem with a basic question from a newbie?
While following a thread they started they may read other threads about LNT, trail adoptions, SOLO training etc. The person through contact with VFTT could become a better hiker, a better stewart.

This forum is an incredible source of knowledge and experience. Many of us here have done SAR and adopted trails. Anytime we can help a newbie with a fundemental (stupid) question we become ambassadors. Not only is there an impact on the newbie but there is impact on all of the lurkers as well.

 

[John H Swanson]

A retired colleague had a sign in his office that read: there is no limit to the labor a man will expend to avoid the real labor of thinking.

To me this is the point of this gripe. If you are asking the question because it's easier than doing your own homework, then you really ought to do you own homework.

And if you can't read, then count the lines on the map

 

[Kevin Rooney]

re: Tripoli Road - maybe Mohamed can chime in here as he's had a place just south in Thornton and is familiar with its status. Perhaps part of the question here (and what is causing some confusion/argument) is just which end of the Tripoli Road you're talking about. It's been my experience that the western side (nearest I95) is closed in fall just like all the other USFS roads unless they're logging which they did a few winters ago. On the other end - from the Waterville Valley side - it may or may not appear open, depending upon lots of factors, including whether the nearby ski touring center has groomed it for its trails.

edit - there's always something to gripe about. Some gripe when they think people don't do their homework re: reading the manuals. Others gripe when trip reports turn into self-promoting opportunities to trumpet their athletic prowess. And yet others gripe when a particular chuck of flora gets pummeled by a non-hiker. Always something to gripe about. If the thread p----s you off - just don't continue to read it. They'll be another thread started soon enough to hold your interest ...

 

[marty]

[WARNING: Thread drift and gripe alert]

Am I the only one who things that the notion of elevation gain, as presented in the WMG, is pretty stupid?

If you're on peak A and your destination is peak B, who cares that B is 200 feet higher than A. What matters is that you descend 500 feet to the col and then--now here is the part that matters--are faced with a 700 foot climb to the summit of B.

The AMC WMG also publishes reverse elevations for trails, which would allow you to quickly identify differences in ups and downs when hiking it in different directions. They do not include this in the text, but they do in the trail mileage and elevation gain summaries.

Marty

 

[SteveHiker]

can't believe this. I agree with Puck.

I understand the point being made in the original post and agree to some extent, but find it a little heavy-handed. There are some here with lots of experience, some with much less. There's no harm in asking a question. Books are the most accurate when published (actually a little prior to that). Things can change. Mistakes and misprints can be made. Yes, there's a new edition out now. But not everyone is going to rush right out and buy it. Maybe they're a casual hiker, or perhaps it's just not in their budget. Or maybe they've misplaced their guidebook (or someone broke into their car oops wrong thread.)

 

[dvbl]

How do they read the posts here if they cannot read a book?

It really ticks me off when people say what I'm thinking before I get the chance . Great point, Mike.

 

[Dugan]

It really ticks me off when people say what I'm thinking before I get the chance . Great point, Mike.

I'm wondering that too.

 

[Dugan]

This has always been my understanding: cumulative climb, not the difference between elevations.

In fact the number can be different for the same route traveled in opposite directions. The number would be the same, except for a plus sign in one direction and a minus sign in the other direction if it were just the difference in elevations.

Doug

That's how all 3 editions I own track elevation. With that said, I do not have the most recent. Perhaps it has since changed.

 

[MichaelJ]

One other thing I'd like to add ... who are we to say that the WMG is the mandatory guide book anyone hiking in the Whites should own? There is nothing wrong at all with someone owning "50 Hikes in the White Mountains" or any number of similar texts. They have maps and trail descriptions and are in most cases everything someone would need to safely do those documented hikes, and may well leave the reader inspired and curious about what else is out there, and lead them to ask the very same questions we are here discussing.

 

[David Metsky]

I don't think anyone is talking about not answering questions here, of any type.

But, if you find yourself asking questions that could be answered by looking in the WMG, then perhaps you should buy a copy. There's a wealth of info in there.

 

[jjmcgo]

Book lovers

Books by Steve Smith, the writer of the current WMG, like "Wandering Through the White Mountains" have lengthy descriptions of hikes he took while learning or just enjoying the trails.
Between the end of the hike and the post-hike beer, his Mountain Wanderer bookstore near the end of the Kancamagus Hwy. (Route 112) in Lincoln is a great place to stop, buy books and maps, and engage him in conversation. He also has a website so you can buy these hiking aides online.
Actually, I should have said go there after the post-hike beers when your judgment is impaired, go into Steve's store and spend more than you can afford!
My '72 WMG is one of my oldest and most beloved treasures. I've woken up hundreds of times with that book sticking into me because I fell asleep reading it at the end of a long day.
We all owe a great debt to those who have shared information in books, on this site and elsewhere on the Internet.

 

[dudley]

"Back in the day" and I'm talking 35 plus years ago, I didn't have the money for a WMG.
Before I hitched my way to the Whites I'd go to my local library and take out their copy. It was a sad, sad day when I found that someone had stolen it.
I had to save up and spring for one myself... still have it.
As far as I'm concerned it's your most important piece of gear after good shoes and socks....but that doen't mean everyone owns one

 

[TEO]

As far as I'm concerned [a guidebook is] your most important piece of gear after good shoes and socks

I'd argue that it's not. A topographic map has virtually all the essential information that you'll need and you can even do without that, especially with a little experience.

Though I suppose one could hike naked and barefoot, carrying nothing and survive, most people consider extra clothing, a water bottle, maybe some food, and a pack to hold it all to be necessary items. A guidebook, even a topo map can be very helpful tools, and often wise to bring, but they are by no means necessary.

 

[dudley]

Well, we disagree on that...
I'd rather be cold and hungry than lost.

 

[TEO]

Well, we disagree on that...
I'd rather be cold and hungry than lost.

I'm happy to agree to disagree, but keep in mind that just being cold and/or hungry can literally kill you. The state of lost can't. (That's not to say that you can't die while lost, or that getting lost can't be one of several compounding mistakes that leads to your death.) Being cold and hungry is a physical state. Being lost is a mental state.

 

[dug]

**Sigh**