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Unpopular opinion: the ranger who told me to skip the Mist Trail in June was right
Last June I had permits for the JMT out of Happy Isles and I planned to hit the Mist Trail at 6am to beat the crowds, but a ranger at the Tuolumne wilderness desk told me to take the John Muir Trail instead, and I thought he was just trying to thin out foot traffic. I took his advice anyway and the JMT route only added about 1.2 miles but I passed maybe 4 people the whole morning while the Mist Trail stairs were packed shoulder to shoulder, and I watched a line of 30 hikers shuffle single file down the wet granite. So my question is, what other "must do" stretches of trail have you skipped and later been glad you did?
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piperbailey1mo ago
I used to be the guy who thought skipping a famous trail section meant you missed the whole point of the hike. Then two summers ago on the Wonderland Trail I took the side trip to Summerland instead of pushing through to Indian Bar, mostly because my knees were shot from the day before. The views of Rainier from that meadow at sunrise were unreal, and I talked to maybe two other people the whole time. Later I heard Indian Bar was a zoo with a full shelter and folks lined up for the good tent spots. So yeah, that ranger knew what he was talking about, and now I actually ask them what they'd skip instead of just nodding and doing my own plan. It feels wrong at first, like you're cheating yourself, but a quiet trail beats a conga line every time.
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