Question on finding quiet routes similar to the old Appalachian Trail sections

I remember when you could hike for days without seeing another soul, but now it seems packed.

3 comments

3 Comments

What gets me is how map apps steer everyone to the same 'good' spots now. They only show the trails they know about, so all the old footpaths and hunter tracks that aren't official just... vanish. It's like @zaranelson said, we shared the secret to death. The real quiet comes from putting the phone away and following a line on an old paper map that might not even be right anymore. You have to be okay with maybe getting a little lost to actually find something.

matthewl672h ago

Were you sure that road wasn't on a map somewhere though? Forestry roads usually are, even the overgrown ones.

zaranelson6h ago

Stumbled upon an old forestry road in the Smokies a few summers back. It was overgrown and silent, nothing like the main trails. Took me two days to realize I hadn't seen a single person. That kind of solitude feels almost illegal now. Everyone has a map app pointing them to the same spots. We ruined the secret by trying to share it.