What about carrying maps of the trail instead of guide books? I don't know if maps in the US have these trails indicated on them, but I would guess so. Getting the most recent copy and getting updates from the forestry people to me would seem a good base for a well guided hike. Then again, i never (really) hiked in the US, so I could be wrong.
A guy named Halfmile has a great set of maps for PCT hikers. They may very well be the second most popular publication on the trail this year, with Yogi coming in first. The biggest reason to carry the guidebooks is if you want to read about the history, geography and plant life along the trail.
As for iPod/Android do it all gadgets. How about making a PCT app that is a GPS guide, come town guide, come restaurant guide, come everything? Dinners, trail angels, accommodation along the way should be able to change their own data and forestry service can live update changes to trail sections. It would give you at the minute weather reports and by a touch of a button update your location on the trail, so your hiking buddies and people back home can see where you are.
Again, you can get most of that from Halfmile. Download his waypoints. Modify the waypoints with additional information concerning all that you want. Weather reports would be tougher, but Postholer's website has a cell phone oriented page that provides weather when you put in your coordinates. If you want live updates and have a good data signal, then you could probably do that with Postholer's online map.
