A ranger in Yosemite told me to stop planning my trips around mileage

I was mapping a 5 day loop in the backcountry last month and got hung up on hitting 12 miles a day, but a ranger at the permit office said 'You're here to see the place, not cross it off a list.' It made me realize I was just racing past everything cool. How do you all decide what to actually look at versus just hiking through?

2 comments

2 Comments

xenajones2d ago

What's the one thing on your map you'd be mad to miss? Plan your camp spots to put you close to that thing for sunset or sunrise. I started adding two "stupid" stops a day, like a weird tree or just a flat rock to eat lunch, and those end up being what I remember.

the_julia2d ago

Start by picking one big thing you really want to see each day, like a waterfall or a cool rock formation, and build your day around getting there with time to just sit. I used to plan trips like a marching order until I spent a whole afternoon watching bugs crawl on a log by a river (sounds dumb, but it was weirdly great). Now my rule is to stop for at least ten minutes any time my gut says "whoa" even if the map says I'm behind. The miles stop mattering when you realize you can't remember the last three you rushed through anyway.