I mapped 400 miles of trails in one summer and learned more from the 3 routes I hated than the 397 I liked

Lisa Wood · 2026-10-09T16:10:02.651711+00:00

Last summer I set out to hike and log every marked route in the Ozark highlands before August. Around mile 200 I noticed something weird: the trails I kept wanting to quit on were the only ones I actually remembered a week later. The flat, well groomed paths blurred together into one long boring walk, but the rocky ridge scramble near White Rock Mountain stuck with me because I had to think about every single step. Now when I plan a trip I look for routes with at least one bad section on purpose. Does anyone else pick trails by how annoying they look on the map instead of how pretty the photos are?

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I mapped 400 miles of trails in one summer and learned more from the 3 routes I hated than the 397 I liked | Backpacking Routes - The Community Guide