Rating: 
Summary: Outdated and incomplete
Review: Information is very outdated. Doesn't seem to know about any trail changes made in the last four years. Only seems to list half of the services in most towns, and quite often lists things that have been closed for years. Author claims seven thru-hikes, but they must have been many, many years ago. Basically worthless, no thru-hikers on the Trail ever use it.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is simply the best
Review: My son and I hiked the AT in 2000, from Maine to Georgia, and carried this book with us every step of the way. (Well, to be more accurate, we did something I have never done to a book before: cut the binding and divided it into sections, and mailed the pieces of it to ourselves at a few maildrops along the way, in order the cut down on the weight in our packs.) The author, Wingfoot, captures in this book not only the essential data that a thru-hiker needs, but also the spirit of the Trail and the hiking community. Before choosing this book, we considered several guides. We compared notes with other hikers to see what books they were relying on. We concluded that this book and a set of maps were the tools we needed. Wingfoot deserves a lot of credit for the thoroughness and accuracy of his work, and his dedication in updating the book year after year. He is also a good writer, which makes reading the book enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Too much controversy..
Review: Sorry for the 1 star.. It's a tentative rating, as I haven't read the book yet.. Lotta controversy surrounding the author it seems.. I was going to purchase the book, but after reading the bronx cheers, I'll check it out at my local library first.. After all 16 bux is 16 bux..
Rating: 
Summary: A TRAIL BLESSING FOR NOVICES
Review: The Thru-hiker's Handbook by Dan Bruce, or simply put "Wingfoot" has probably earned a great share of the reason SO many thru-hikers have become thru-hikers in the years this is put out. It is his intention to give the most solid facts about the trail and along the way influence the reader into the trail life. He attempts to get the reader into the trail as not a party but a life experience that should not be wasted. His opinions are well shared in the long distance hiker community about alcohol or drugs on the trail, conservation and preservation measures a hiker should ensure to keep what has been seen "see-able" for those who come next. I own 2 revisions of this trail guide. It is informative and a good read into what to expect and how to approach the task as well as the trail description itself. I fully recommend the usage of this handbook to intellegent individuals who can utilize the words and wisdom of someone truly interested in educating potential THRU-HIKERS about the AT. HIKER777 (AT thru-78, SECTION 78-2001)
Rating:
Summary: Indispensable
Review: This guide provides a mile by mile tour of the AT provides info regarding water availability/shelters/scenic areas, I have read it cover to cover three times, picking up new info each time. I am waiting for the new planning guide to be published this year so I can plan my thru-hike. Haru
Rating:
Summary: Indispensable
Review: This guide provides a mile by mile tour of the AT provides info regarding water availability/shelters/scenic areas, I have read it cover to cover three times, picking up new info each time. I am waiting for the new planning guide to be published this year so I can plan my thru-hike. Haru
Rating:
Summary: The Thru-Hiker's Handbook 2002: Guide to the Appalachian Tr
Review: This is an excellent resource for anyone planning a hike on the Appalachian Trail. The information is accurate, concise and in a format that is useful to the long distance hiker as well as the day, week, or week-long hiker. I relied on Wingfoot's 2000 and 2001 Handbooks for my entire hike of the AT. If you only buy one book for your hike make sure it is this one. Wingfoot's book is a 5 star.
Little Steps
GA-ME 2000/01
Rating:
Summary: The Thru-Hiker's Handbook 2002: Guide to the Appalachian Tr
Review: This is an excellent resource for anyone planning a hike on the Appalachian Trail. The information is accurate, concise and in a format that is useful to the long distance hiker as well as the day, week, or week-long hiker. I relied on Wingfoot's 2000 and 2001 Handbooks for my entire hike of the AT. If you only buy one book for your hike make sure it is this one. Wingfoot's book is a 5 star.
Little Steps
GA-ME 2000/01
Rating:
Summary: The only book you need.
Review: This is the only book I carried for the entire Appalachian Trail. It has all the services, shelters, water sources, and trail data in it. It's the only book you need.
I started out with the whole book minus the cover and tore out the pages I didn't need any more as I hiked. A new one is printed every year; get it at http://trailplace.com/
Rating:
Summary: I guess some reviwers of this book haven't actually used it.
Review: Wingfoot can be abrasive, and many might consider his viewpoints annoying, but none of this is expressed in this book and could only be considered a factor in a decision on using his Handbook if you had a personal problem with him, it in no way effects how useful his book might be to you when you are out on the trail.
The Handbook was delayed and came out somewhat later than Wingfoot expected, still it came out well before the vast majority of thru-hikers started their hike so I fail to see how this is a problem.
The Companion is a good book, and if it wasn't for Wingfoot's Handbook I would strongly reccomend it. I however know of too many people who have tossed their Companions in favor of Handbooks when they were actually out on the trail and could see what was truely most useful to you in the day to day life of hiking the AT. The Handbook is easier to use, contains more of the information you actually need to function on the trail and less of the information you don't need. Has been published longer and is the innovater, not the seemingly obvious attempt to thwart copyright laws, and is published by one person, not a committee. The two books just aren't in the same class when it comes to being really useful to a hiker.
If you are actually going to hike the AT, want the best guidebook that offers you the best information while you are on your hike, and you don't let your personal dislike of the author lead you to say things on this website that no one who has actually used the book could honestly say. Then this is the book for you.
If you are an armchair hiker who only sets foot on the trail through online journals and books,or if you are petty enough to want to harm one of the few people still standing up for the traditional values of the AT then this may not be the book for you. Either way, good luck to you.
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