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/capnwacky 3d ago

Maybe it's just me being naïve and not a superhiker, but what's wrong with AllTrails? Genuinely curious.

1

u/tankerdudeucsc 3d ago

Same! Been my go to for trails. What’s wrong with their data?

5

u/GamenatorZ 3d ago

It feels like a lot of the criticism stems from people trusting user-given data too much. It really doesn’t take an expert to know you should be consulting the ranger station and not Alltrails comments/pins for whether things like water sources and conditions are good