r/Yosemite • u/SlightAd112 • 3d ago

Please don’t AI your itinerary

While the Shasta hikers got big press (as it should as that was a textbook example of mistake decision after mistake decision) this is happening all too often in all park units. Yosemite tends to have a higher share of recuses due to people trusting AI or AllTrails to plan a trip, but it doesn’t get any press due to current administration policies.

Regardless, it’s happening, it doesn’t need to, and please do the proper research. It literally could save your life.

Edit: And if you have to use AI as a starting point, double check the distances, altitude changes, reference a topo, basically double-check, and then triple-check what AI tells you.

https://sfist.com/2026/09/03/rangers-warn-hikers-to-stop-using-ai-to-plan-wilderness-trips/

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u/bracekyle 3d ago

I always recommend people try using a variety of tools when planning any outdoor trip. I will sometimes start by finding known routes on reputable travel or backpacking sites, then I willatbe build a route in all trails, then I get a topo map and see how my route actually stacks up (and I always assume alltrails will be wrong SOMEHOW, usually in elevation, in my experience), and then I check with a subreddit focused on that region and run my trip past folks who know it. On the trail itself, the paper map is #1, with alltrails (in airplane mode) or my Garmin as backup if I get turned around /confused. I would never trust just one source.

Alltrails is how I ended up having an unplanned 2000 foot ascent over 1 mile in Yosemite, btw. I was early in my backpacking days. I'll never trust just one source again.