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Finally nailed that tricky river crossing on the JMT last week
Had to decide between fording at a wide shallow section or a narrow deeper one... picked the wide spot and kept my boots dry for once. Anyone else have a go-to strategy for crossing fast water?
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max_brown1mo ago
Whoa, hold up. Is it really that serious though? It's a river crossing on a hiking trail, not navigating a Class V rapid in a kayak. I mean, good for you for keeping your boots dry, but I've just waded through plenty of fast water and honestly, a little wet gear never killed anyone. People act like a wet boot is the end of the world, but you dry them out at camp anyway. Feels like overthinking a pretty basic part of hiking.
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This whole thing reminds me of how people treat basic life stuff like it's some huge ordeal (you know, like folding fitted sheets or parallel parking). It's part of a bigger pattern where we turn simple tasks into this whole production with strategies and best practices. Sure, getting your boots soaked isn't the end of the world, but neither is taking thirty seconds to pick a smarter line and stay dry. It's the same reason some people will walk an extra block to a crosswalk while others just jaywalk without thinking. Sometimes the "overthinking" is just someone paying attention and making a choice that works for them. Nothing wrong with that in my book.
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kim.nina1mo ago
I get what you're saying but I see it more like max_brown does honestly. Choosing a smarter line is fine and all but at some point you're just making a big deal out of walking through a puddle. I've seen people spend five minutes trying to hop rocks or find the perfect dry path when they could have just stepped in the water and been past it in ten seconds. Same with jaywalking actually. Sometimes waiting for the crosswalk makes sense but other times you're just standing there for no reason when the road is empty. There's a difference between paying attention and overcomplicating something that doesn't need to be a whole strategy session.
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