Shoutout to the hiker I met near Philmont who made me rethink my whole water plan

He was a no-nonsense guy who'd done the Colorado Trail three times. He straight up said, 'Two liters isn't enough for dry stretches, you'll end up sick.' He was right too, my stomach was wrecked after ignoring him on a 15 mile dry camp in New Mexico last summer. Anyone else had a stranger's advice save their trip?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_aaron3d ago

Wait, has nobody pointed out that this kind of thing is actually a form of trail karma? Like, that guy didn't have to say anything, he could have just watched you hike off with a headache and a bad time. But he gave you free knowledge... and now you're passing it on to us, so it's like this whole chain of good advice keeps going. I swear, the backpacking community runs on these little moments where someone puts in a tiny bit of effort to save another person a world of hurt. It's not just about water or gear, it's about keeping the whole system from falling apart one bad decision at a time.

joseph_west593d ago

Strangers and their unsolicited advice. Right up there with trail magic and blisters. That guy saved your gut though. Bet he could have charged you for that lesson. Dude probably saw you walking with that little bottle and just knew.