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Update: I finally understood why the Wind River High Route felt so different from the JMT
Three years ago, I hiked the John Muir Trail and loved it, but it felt like a long walk on a trail. Last month, I finished the Wind River High Route in Wyoming, and it clicked. That route forces you off trail for over 80 miles, navigating passes and boulder fields with a map. It made me realize a 'route' isn't just a harder trail; it's a different kind of trip where you build the path yourself each day. The planning and constant decisions are the whole point. Has anyone else had a trip that shifted how you see backpacking?
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wood.eric2mo ago
That 80 miles off trail sounds intense. How much time did you spend just staring at your map each day making those calls?
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wren6382mo ago
My buddy and I got totally turned around in the Sawtooths once. We spent a solid hour each morning just sitting on a rock, tracing ridges with our fingers and arguing about which drainage would actually go through. The map was basically glued to my hands!
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ray3561mo ago
Ngl, that map was practically part of my gear by the end of the trip. I'd wake up and the first thing I'd do was spread it out on my sleeping bag and just stare at it for like 20 minutes while drinking my coffee. There were mornings where I'd trace the same ridge line four or five times before finally picking a direction to go. The worst part was when the sun was hitting it just right and making the paper glare so bad you couldn't see the contour lines at all.
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uma_williams2mo ago
Ever try navigating by just the sound of water?
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