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The guy at REI told me to bring extra water on the JMT and I almost didn't listen
Last summer I was prepping for the John Muir Trail and this old hiker at the REI in Bishop told me I should carry 4 liters for the first stretch out of Yosemite. I thought he was being dramatic, so I only packed 2. By day two I was rationing sips and my mouth felt like sandpaper. Has anyone else gotten advice from a random store employee that saved their trip or made it worse?
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lee8471mo ago
Gosh, that's a wild tangent about wine! But seriously, the water thing is a good lesson. I think the real trick nobody talks about is that store employees often know the specific conditions that week, not just the general rule. When the guy at REI told you to carry 4 liters, he probably had just talked to a ranger or another hiker coming off the trail that morning. Those guys hear about the actual water sources drying up or the heatwave hitting right then, stuff the guidebooks miss. Sometimes the advice sounds like overkill, but they're not trying to be dramatic, they're just passing along fresh info from the ground. Next time ask them when they last talked to someone on the trail, it helps you trust their tip more.
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wood.faith1mo ago
Yeah that sandpaper mouth feeling is rough...
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sandra_bennett591mo ago
Oh @wood.faith, I actually kinda like that sandpaper feel sometimes! It reminds me that the wine really had some grip and character instead of being totally wimpy. Different strokes for different folks, right?
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