On my 2008 thru-hike attempt of the Trail (I had to go home because of my knees) I bought both the Data Book and the Thru-Hikers' Companion. I wound up taking the Companion with me and leaving the Data Book at home. There wasn't much of anything in the Data Book that wasn't in the Companion, and the latter had much more detailed and useful information.

When I do it again I'll take the Companion along with the extremely detailed section guidebooks for each section, which would have helped me out in a few circumstances this time around.

On my 2008 thru-hike attempt of the Trail (I had to go home because of my knees) I bought both the Data Book and the Thru-Hikers' Companion. I wound up taking the Companion with me and leaving the Data Book at home. There wasn't much of anything in the Data Book that wasn't in the Companion, and the latter had much more detailed and useful information.

When I do it again I'll take the Companion along with the extremely detailed section guidebooks for each section, which would have helped me out in a few circumstances this time around.

My daughter started hiking the Appalachian Trail on 3/16/08 and as a mother I was extremely worried about her hiking 2175 miles with just her dogs. But with this book, I realize what an amazing journey it will be for her. She has made an amazing number of friends along the way. I feel more secure in knowing that there are well-spaced shelters along the entire trail and help readily available if necessary.

I've been collecting these books since I hiked the trail in 2000, and this edition is every bit as useful as the others. It's small and lightweight, which means you should carry it with you the whole way. When I went thru, I only carried the pages I needed ripped out of the book to save a little weight - and now I regret that I did. You should carry the whole book, mark your mileage in the margins and whitespace, where you meet people, etc. It'll be a great memento after you're done.

The one suggestion I would have to the designers is to leave a little more margin room for writing.

The picture on the cover of this 30th edition is also one of the best in recent years. It's a picture of Whitetop Mountain in Virgina - covered in snow.

Good luck to anyone going thru this year!

-Bullfrog GA-ME 2000