A ranger in Yosemite told me my route planning was 'all up and no down'

I was showing him my plan for a 4 day loop out of Tuolumne Meadows, and he pointed out I had three big climbs in a row with no real breaks. He said to look at the elevation profile more like a wave, and to put a camp after a big drop, not just after a climb. I swapped my second and third nights, putting camp at the bottom of a 2,000 foot descent instead of the top. My knees thanked me. Anyone have other tricks for reading a topo map to plan easier days?

3 comments

3 Comments

piper_kim23d ago

Ever look at the spacing of the contour lines on the side of a valley? I try to find where they spread out wide, which means a gentler slope. Camping there is way better than on those tight, steep lines, even if the map says it's the same elevation drop.

kimmurphy23d ago

That ranger gave you bad advice. Planning camps at the bottom of a huge drop just means you start the next day with a massive climb, which is way worse. You want to camp high after the climb when you're already tired, not waste fresh energy in the morning on a giant uphill. The wave idea sounds nice but it ignores how people actually hike. A tough day early makes the rest of the trip feel easy, and you get the hard stuff over with.

wesleyb2023d ago

Piper_kim has a good point about contour spacing, but I actually look for tight lines first. A steep climb early gets the hard part done, and the rest of the day feels easier. Planning is more about your own energy than just finding flat spots.