river_wright•1mo agoProlific Poster

I started mapping my water sources backwards and it saved a trip in the Tetons

I was planning a four day loop in the Tetons last August and kept hitting a wall with the daily mileage. The problem was a long dry stretch on day three. I flipped my map and planned the route from the last water source back to the start. This showed me a better campsite near a creek I had missed. Has anyone else tried planning a route in reverse to solve a problem like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan_jenkins901mo ago

Did that exact thing in the Wind Rivers last summer. Got stuck on a high route with no obvious water for miles. Turned the map around and traced it from the last lake I knew about. Found a tiny feeder stream I had totally missed on the first pass. Saved my butt. Sometimes you just gotta look at the problem backwards.

danieljenkins1mo ago

That "look at it backwards" trick works for so much stuff, like fixing a messed up schedule or even untangling Christmas lights.

anthony16524d ago

Yeah, that "look at it backwards" idea is a classic. I read a trail guide once that called it "reverse scouting" for finding campsites. It basically said your brain gets stuck on one path forward and misses options, but flipping it resets your view. Spotting that hidden creek is a perfect example.