c/backpacking-routes

Heard a guy at the gear shop say switchbacks save more energy than you think

I was browsing a clearance rack in Seattle last weekend and overheard this older backpacker telling his friend that taking switchbacks instead of going straight up a steep hill can cut your heart rate by like 20 percent over a mile. He said most people waste energy fighting gravity on the direct line and then burn out before the summit. Has anyone actually tested that on a long route like the Olympic Coast or something similar?}

That comment about my pack weight snapped me out of a bad habit

Some guy on the JMT trail last summer just looked at my bag and said 'you carryin a tent or a house?' I laughed but it bugged me. Got home and weighed everything out, had like 8 pounds of extra clothes and a camp chair. Sold the chair, cut down to one spare shirt, saved 4 pounds for my next trip. Anyone else get a rude comment that actually made you rethink your gear?

Debate: marking your trail with cairns vs. leaving no trace at all?

I was hiking the John Muir Trail last summer and saw this huge stack of rocks someone built right at a junction... it totally threw me off because the trail was clearly marked already. On one hand, cairns can help in sketchy weather or low visibility, but on the other hand, leaving them everywhere kinda defeats the whole 'leave no trace' idea. So where do you draw the line between helpful and harmful on a route?

Switched from a 65L pack to a 40L for a week in the Sierra Nevada and it felt like I was cheating

For years I crammed everything into a giant Osprey, thinking I needed all that gear for a 5 day trip. Last summer I forced myself to take only my 40L pack and quit carrying camp shoes and a full chair. Anyone else find downsizing actually made their knees feel better on the downhill?

I finally figured out why people keep getting lost on the High Sierra Trail

I do trail work every summer and I keep seeing hikers heading east from Crescent Meadow without checking the sign at the junction near Bearpaw. It's a tiny wooden post, easy to miss if you're looking down at your phone. Last week I watched three separate groups walk past it and end up on the wrong fork. That little detour adds like 4 miles of climbing before you realize your mistake. Why does nobody else seem to notice this happens?

Chose the JMT over the PCT section K this summer, and I'm still not sure it was the right call

My water filter cracked on day 3 of a 10-day trip in the Smokies

Went to filter water from a creek near Clingmans Dome. Pulled out my squeeze bag and the whole seam split. Dirty water everywhere. Had to boil everything for the rest of the trip. Carried extra fuel cans to make it work. Anyone else had a filter fail mid-route like that?

I finally listened to that crusty old guy at a gear shop in Moab who told me to ditch my brand new trekking poles for wooden sticks

He said your fancy carbon fiber poles are just gonna snap in a pinch and you need something you can whittle into tent stakes if things go sideways, and then two days later my pole busted on a slickrock scramble and I made a crutch out of juniper branch - has anyone else had a total stranger save their trip with some ridiculous advice?

Got stuck on the Colorado Trail in a thunderstorm with no cover

Near Kenosha Pass, around mile 45, the sky just opened up out of nowhere. No trees thick enough to hide under, just open meadow for a mile. I had to drop my pack and lay flat in a ditch with my sleeping pad over me for 25 minutes until it passed. Lightning was hitting maybe half a mile away, could feel it in the ground. Anyone else ever been caught that exposed with no good option?

Tried a hammock setup for the Appalachian Trail this spring, hated every night of it

I swapped my tent for a hammock on a 5-day stretch near Roan Mountain, and by day 3 my back was killing me from sleeping curved. Anyone else ditch the hammock trend and go back to sleeping on the ground?

Got stuck in a thunderstorm at 12,000 feet on the Pacific Crest Trail near Muir Pass last summer

I hunkered down under a crappy little tree for an hour while lightning hit the ridge maybe 200 yards away and had to use my sleeping pad as a makeshift shelter because my tent fly ripped, have you ever been caught above treeline in a storm and just had to ride it out?

Wasted $90 on a "pro" route map for the Pacific Crest Trail and it was useless

Bought this fancy waterproof map set from some company online for a section hike near Kennedy Meadows. Paid $90 thinking it'd have detailed campsite info and water sources. Got to the trail and half the springs marked on the map were dry. The campsite locations were off by almost a mile in two spots. Could've just used the Guthook app on my phone for free. Anyone else overpay for a map that let you down?

Vent: wasted $60 on a fancy compass I never needed on the Appalachian Trail

I bought a $60 mirror compass with a clinometer before my first thru-hike of the AT (you know, thinking I'd need to navigate off-trail). After 2 months I realized I just used my phone's GPS and the trail markers, so it sat in my pack the whole time, adding weight. Has anyone else bought gear like this that turned out to be totally useless on the route?

Compared the classic JMT route vs the High Route and one was way better

I did the John Muir Trail last summer and the High Route the year before. The High Route kicked my butt with all the off-trail navigation but the views were unreal compared to the crowded JMT. Anyone else find that the harder route ends up being more worth it?

Pro tip: Hit 500 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail before I realized I was carrying too much water

I was doing the stretch through the Sierra last summer and kept filling up to 4 liters at every stream. After about 300 miles I noticed my pack felt way heavier than it needed to. Turned out I was carrying a liter extra almost every day because I never checked the next water source distance on my map. Once I started planning ahead and carrying just 2.5 liters I saved about 2 pounds of weight. Has anyone else figured out their own water carrying sweet spot on a long trail?

Bridge or river crossing - I picked wrong near Mt. Whitney

Last summer I was hiking the JMT section near Mt. Whitney and hit a spot where the trail forked. One way went over an old wooden bridge that looked like it was held together with hope and spit. The other way was a rock hop across a creek that was running high from snowmelt. I figured the bridge was gonna collapse under me so I went for the rocks. Big mistake. I slipped on the second rock, went knee deep into freezing water, and spent the next 4 hours hiking with wet boots. Blisters were brutal and I lost feeling in my toes for a good while. The bridge was probably fine, turns out the ranger I talked to later said it's inspected every spring. Has anyone else taken the dumb route when the obvious choice was right there?

The time I carried too much water on the John Muir Trail

Last summer on the JMT near Muir Pass, I packed an extra 3 liters thinking I'd need it for a dry stretch. Turned out there was a reliable creek every 4 miles, so I was just hauling 6 pounds of dead weight all day. I learned to check recent trip reports for actual water conditions instead of relying on old maps. Anybody else ever carry way more water than they needed on a long stretch?

A pair of $15 trail runners from a thrift store in Boulder changed my whole approach to lightweight hiking

I was hauling heavy boots through the Rockies for years until a guy at the hostel said try zero-drop shoes and now I can do 20 miles without my knees screaming, anyone else ditch boots for something lighter?

A guy in a hostel bunk told me to ditch my guidebook in Banff

I spent 3 days planning this perfect route through the Rockies with my Lonely Planet, and some random traveler named Matt said to just pick a direction and walk. He argued that the best views come from wrong turns, not book recommendations. Turns out he was right about a hidden lake trail that wasn't listed anywhere, so how do you balance planning with just winging it?

Am I the only one who thinks the Pacific Crest Trail is way overhyped?

I hiked a 50-mile section near Mount Hood last month and honestly, it felt like a crowded sidewalk. Every campsite was packed, and I heard someone playing music from a Bluetooth speaker at 11 PM. Three years ago I did the same stretch and saw maybe 5 people the whole time. The permits and quotas are supposed to help, but it feels like the charm is gone. Has anyone else found a better alternative route in the Cascades that doesn't have this problem?

Tried to save weight by bringing only a hammock on the JMT and forgot to check if trees exist above treeline

Spent three nights sleeping on rocks under a tarp because I didn't realize half the trail is above 10,000 feet with barely a shrub in sight... has anyone else made a dumb gear assumption that totally backfired on a high altitude route?

Took the PCT section through Washington two years in a row and the trail had completely changed

Went back to the same stretch near White Pass that I hiked in 2021. In 2022, half the side trails were gone from a landslide and a creek had rerouted itself through the main path. Had to bushwhack for like an hour to get back on track. Anyone else notice how fast the Pacific Crest changes season to season?

Can we talk about how people plan 20 mile days on the AT without checking elevation first?

Ngl, I watched a guy break down near Roan Mountain last week because his GPS said 18 miles but the map showed 4,000 feet of climb. He didn't even look at the contour lines until he was halfway up the first hill. Has anyone else seen folks just trusting distance over actual terrain?

Took me 15 years to figure out I was carrying my pack wrong

I always had my hip belt sitting too low, basically carrying all the weight on my shoulders. Last summer a guy on the JMT trail pointed out the belt should sit right on your hip bones, not below them. Has anyone else had a basic setup habit that took way too long to break?

The JMT is way too crowded now. Maybe skip it for the TRT.

I did the JMT last August and it felt like a highway with people lining up for campsites. Has anyone done the Tahoe Rim Trail as a quieter alternative this season?