Chatted with a trail angel in Bend and it flipped my route planning

Ran into this older guy at a coffee shop near the Deschutes trailhead last month, and he told me he never plans more than 10 miles ahead, even on weeklong trips. He said he just reads the terrain each morning and asks locals about water sources, which sounded wild to me since I map every switchback. But after he mentioned missing a spring because his map was outdated, I realized I've been too rigid with my GPS tracks. Has anyone else switched to looser, on-the-fly planning and found better campsites or views you would've skipped?

1 comments

1 Comment

adam_hernandez7h ago

Wait, do you ever find yourself second-guessing the GPS even when it says the trail is right there? That old dude sounds like he’s onto something. I started doing the loose thing last summer after missing a killer viewpoint because I was too busy staring at my phone screen instead of looking up. Now I’ll just ask a ranger or a local hiker about the next water stop, and honestly, I’ve found way more cool stuff that way. My GPS is now just a backup in case I get lost, not the boss of me. The best campsite I ever had was one I stumbled on because a guy at a gas station told me to skip the marked spot and follow a faint side trail instead.