c/backpacking-routes

Got caught in a bad storm on the Appalachian Trail near Roanoke

I was hiking a 10 mile section of the Appalachian Trail outside Roanoke last month and a sudden thunderstorm rolled in with no warning. I didn't have a proper rain cover for my pack and all my gear got soaked through, including my sleeping bag. Does anyone have a good tip for drying out gear fast when you're stuck in a remote shelter?

Dropped $60 on that rain jacket everyone raves about and it soaked through in ten minutes

I bought that fancy $60 rain jacket from the outdoor store last week based on all the hype online, first day on the Appalachian Trail near Harpers Ferry it started leaking through the shoulders after a light drizzle. Now I'm standing in a shelter trying to dry out my base layer and wondering if I should have just stuck with a cheap poncho. Anybody else get burned by a supposedly waterproof jacket that turned out to be a lie?

Tried a shortcut through the Weminuche Creek drainage last fall

I figured I could save 4 miles by following a game trail down to the creek instead of staying on the main trail. Got cliffed out above a 15 foot drop with my pack on and had to backtrack 2 hours in loose scree. Has anyone else had a shortcut backfire like that?

A ranger in Yosemite told me I was carrying too much weight and it changed my whole setup

Last summer on the John Muir Trail I stopped at a ranger station to check conditions and the guy looked at my pack and just laughed. He said I was hauling at least 15 pounds of stuff I'd never touch like extra clothes and a heavy cook kit. I listened to him on the spot and maild home half my gear from Tuolumne Meadows. Dropped from 45 pounds to 30 and my knees thanked me the next 150 miles. Anyone else get a brutal but helpful reality check from a ranger or fellow hiker on a long trip?

That rainy stretch on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia nearly broke me

I was hiking the AT through Shenandoah in early June and hit three straight days of rain. The trail turned into a muddy mess and I slipped on a wet rock near Hawksbill Mountain, twisted my ankle pretty bad. I had to stop and wrap it with an ace bandage from my first aid kit, then take ibuprofen for the swelling. Took me two extra days to finish that section because I had to slow way down. Looking back, I should have just camped at the shelter and waited it out instead of pushing through. Has anyone else had to change their whole route because of weather or injuries?

Had to pick between the John Muir Trail and the Wonderland Trail last summer

I had two weeks off and couldn't decide. JMT is longer but more famous, Wonderland is shorter but you loop around Rainier the whole time. I went with Wonderland in late July and honestly the glacier views were unreal even with the extra elevation gain. Has anyone here done both and which did you like better for solo hiking?

Wasted $180 on a GPS route guide that was totally wrong

Bought that Topo-Route digital guide for the Wind River Range last spring, thought it would save me time planning. Turns out the waypoints were off by almost 2 miles in some sections, and the camp spot recommendations were unusable. Ended up redoing everything on CalTopo from scratch anyway. Anyone else get burned by a commercial route guide that was straight up garbage?

Just realized I was overthinking route planning on the PCT

Spent three weeks mapping out every water source and campsite for a 200 mile stretch near Crater Lake, but I kept second guessing my daily mileage. Then I tried leaving the detailed schedule at home and just used a printed elevation profile with basic markers for resupply points. Turns out being flexible about where I stopped made the whole trip feel less stressful, has anyone else ditched their day by day plans and seen better results?

The trail near Mount Rainier transformed in just two weeks last summer

I hit the Skyline Trail in early July and it was just rocks and snow patches. Hiked it again on the 22nd and suddenly there were wildflowers everywhere. Like someone flipped a switch on the whole mountain. Lupine and paintbrush covered spots that were bare white two weeks earlier. I guess the snowmelt timing is everything up there. Has anyone else caught a trail change that fast or was this just a weird season?

Got caught in a lightning storm on the Teton Crest Trail last August

The Sierra High Route vs. the JMT last summer

I had to pick between the Sierra High Route and the John Muir Trail for a 10 day trip in August. Went with the High Route for the solitude, and honestly crossing those Class 3 passes solo wore me out more than I expected. Anyone else find route finding adds a whole other layer of exhaustion?

That one hiker near Mount Whitney told me to ditch my steel water bottle

Back in 2019, this grizzled guy at the Crabtree Meadow ranger station swore my 32oz steel bottle was adding too much weight and said I'd regret it by mile 10. He was totally right, my shoulders were killing me by the time I hit Guitar Lake and I ended up switching to a plastic one mid-trip. Anyone else get bad gear advice from a stranger that actually turned out to be solid?

Vent: A guy at the REI told me my pack fit is wrong after 2 years

I was getting water at the fill station on the Appalachian Trail last Saturday and a thru-hiker named Dave pointed out my hip belt was sitting way too low. He said I was carrying 90% of the weight on my shoulders and that's why my neck has been killing me on 10-mile days. Has anyone else had a random stranger call out their gear setup and actually been right?

I finally swapped my old external frame pack for an internal frame on the Appalachian Trail last fall

After 15 years of carrying a 1980s Kelty with a frame that squeaked like a haunted door, the difference in weight distribution was so dramatic I actually cut 3 days off my usual 50-mile section hike through Shenandoah, has anyone else made that switch and noticed their shoulders stopped hurting?

Tried the Pacific Crest Trail in late March instead of April like everyone says

Everyone told me to wait until April to start the PCT because of snow. I went out near Kennedy Meadows on March 20th anyway. Hit 4 feet of snow at 8,000 feet and had to turn back after 3 days. Learned that the collective wisdom is right most of the time. Has anyone else tried starting a long trail early and got burned by conditions?

Figured out after 8 years I was hanging my food bag wrong the whole time

I was up in the Smokies last spring, just north of Clingmans Dome, and a bear got my food bag on the third night. I always thought I was doing it right - throw a line over a branch, tie it off. But a ranger walked by the next morning and pointed out my bag was only 8 feet off the ground, not the 12 you need. Turns out I was using too thin a rope and it was sagging under the weight. Has anyone else had a moment where a ranger or another hiker casually showed you a basic mistake you'd been making for years?

Just spent a full week hiking the Northville-Placid Trail in the Adirondacks last October

Three straight days of rain turned the trail into a muddy mess and I ran out of dry socks by day four. What’s the longest you’ve gone without dry feet on a trip?

Hot take: the worst day on the trail is better than the best day at the office... or is it?

I did the John Muir Trail two summers ago and had one day near Evolution Basin that was just brutal. Woke up with a headache that wouldn't quit, my filter clogged after 3 liters, and I took a wrong turn that added 2 extra miles of talus scrambling. By the time I hit camp I was ready to quit the whole thing. But honestly? I look back on that day more fondly than the perfect ones with blue skies and easy grades. There's something about pushing through the garbage that sticks with you way more than the easy cruising. Meanwhile my friends who haven't hiked think I'm crazy for even saying that. Anybody else find that their worst days on trail end up being their favorite memories?

Friend told me I baby my gear too much and it stuck with me

So I was out in the Sierras last weekend on the JMT stretch near Tuolumne and my buddy Mike laughed at me for wrapping my tent poles in foam before shoving them in my pack. Said I spend more time protecting my stuff than actually enjoying the trail. He rolls into camp with a beat up 10 year old osprey that's got duct tape patches and his tent just thrown in loose. Got me thinking. On one hand I've never had a pole snap or a zipper fail mid trip because I'm careful. On the other hand he's done 2000 more trail miles than me in that same decade and never once had a trip ruined by broken gear. Ever since that conversation I've been second guessing whether I'm being smart or just paranoid. Who's right here? Does being anal about your gear actually save you headaches or does it just add weight and stress?

Hit 1,000 miles on the PCT this summer and it changed how I pack

I was tracking my miles on the Pacific Crest Trail and when I crossed 1,000 near Belden Town I realized my pack weight had dropped by almost 8 pounds from the start. At first I brought way too much gear, like a heavy camp chair and extra clothes I never used. Around mile 600 I started mailing stuff home and swapping for lighter stuff like a smaller cook kit. Has anyone else noticed their gear load shifting a ton after a certain mileage milestone?

Hit 500 miles on the Appalachian Trail before I realized I was carrying too much

I started the AT in Georgia last spring and thought I had my pack dialed in. But around the 500 mile mark in Virginia, I finally weighed everything and found I had 8 pounds of stuff I never used. Extra clothes, a heavy camp chair, three different water filters I kept swapping. That number surprised me because I figured I was already minimal. Once I shipped the extras home, my pace picked up a lot. Has anyone else hit a mile marker that made them rethink their whole setup?

That shortcut near Eagle Creek took me 6 hours longer than I planned

I was hiking the Eagle Creek loop in Oregon last fall and decided to take this "alternate trail" I found on an old blog... turned out it was barely used and I had to bushwhack through a huge blowdown area. Took me from noon until almost dark to cover what should have been 3 miles. Anyone else ever follow a trail that looked fine on paper but was a total mess on the ground?

That rainy week on the Pacific Crest changed my mind about trail runners

I used to swear by heavy boots for the Sierras, no question about it. Then last August I hit a seven day stretch near Tuolumne Meadows where it rained every single afternoon, my boots stayed wet for four days straight, and I got blisters between my toes I still have scars from. A guy named Dave at a resupply point told me his trail runners dried out in under an hour on the same stretch, and I laughed at him. By mile 80 I was ordering a pair of La Sportivas to pick up in South Lake Tahoe and I haven't worn boots since. Has anyone else switched mid trail after a bad weather week?

That guy who told me to ditch my heavy pack for a frameless one was so right

I met this older hiker at a shelter on the AT near Hot Springs, NC, and he kept going on about how my 60L Osprey was overkill for the 4 day trips I was doing. I laughed it off but then tried a borrowed 35L frameless pack for a weekend in Shenandoah and honestly my shoulders didn't hurt at all. Has anyone else made the switch and felt like it changed everything for shorter trips?

Hot take: the JMT is overrated and I'm tired of pretending it's not

I did the John Muir Trail last August and honestly, the first 5 days were some of the worst hiking I've ever done. Constant crowds, people blasting speakers, and someone actually tried to set up camp 10 feet from my tent at Guitar Lake. The views around Evolution Valley were nice, but not worth dealing with 50 other hikers every single mile. I spent 9 days total and the only stretch I really enjoyed was the section between Muir Trail Ranch and Mather Pass. Has anyone else felt let down by a super popular route like this or am I just getting grumpy in my 30s?