Hot take: a guy at the gear shop in Bozeman told me to plan my trips backward from the last water source
I was buying a filter last Friday and he mentioned that most folks map their days around campsites, but he always starts at the last reliable creek on the map and works back toward the trailhead. I tried it on a 3-day loop in the Absarokas and packed 2 pounds less water than I usually do because I knew exactly where the dry stretches were. Does anyone else plan routes this way, or am I late to something obvious?