Pro tip: My conversation with a thru-hiker made me change how I plan miles

Ran into a guy at the Lost Coast trailhead last month who had done the PCT twice. He told me I was overthinking my daily mileage targets and should just go by how my legs feel at 10am instead. That hit different because I've been stressing over hitting 15 miles a day on my Sierra trips for years. He showed me his old journal where he averaged 8 miles some days and 20 on others based on terrain and weather. Now I'm planning my upcoming Yosemite loop with no set daily limits, just a target camp zone I can adjust. Has anyone else had a veteran hiker change how you approach your schedule?

3 comments

3 Comments

leehall1mo ago

Wait, he seriously kept a journal tracking those exact numbers day by day?

west.casey1mo ago

That tracks, numbers don't lie when you're honest with yourself.

shane_hayes1mo ago

Started tracking my own numbers last year after a similar reality check. Kept it simple with just a notebook by my bed, wrote down three things every night: what I spent, what I earned, and how many hours I actually worked. Found that seeing the real numbers every single day made me more honest about where my time and money were going. After about two months I started noticing patterns I never would have caught otherwise, like how much I wasted on impulse buys when I was stressed. Eventually just having that daily record helped me cut my spending by almost 30 percent without even trying hard. Numbers really do force you to face things you'd rather ignore.