For hiking the Appalachian Trail, nearly every thru-hiker carries a guidebook. Additionally, some thru-hikers carry maps.
The most widely used guidebooks are The A.T. Guide and the AT Thru-Hiker’s Companion. The maps can be purchased from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s online store.
To save on weight, some hikers choose not to carry maps and only carry a guidebook or just some pages of the guidebook. However, maps give you an all around layout of the area and are just fun to look at.
Here’s some more information about the guidebooks and maps:
- The A.T. Guide: This guidebook is popular for many reasons. It features elevation profiles that run along the side of the page. <Website>
- AT Thru-Hiker’s Companion: This is another popular guidebook that offers elevation profiles as well. <Website>
- Appalachian Trail Maps: The maps can be purchased for individual sections along the AT from the ATC Trail Store. <Website>
This map takes a few seconds to load, but click <here> for a pdf of the entire Appalachian Trail. This map is from the National Park Service. Warning: Looking at the entire map at once might overwhelm you.