Man, this takes me back to a soggy trip I did years ago where my buddy swore by his fancy waterproof map case and it still leaked like a sieve. Halfway through the hike he was reading a blurry blob while I just used the trail signs and my own two eyes. Sometimes the low tech move is just paying attention.

The "same trail same pack weight totally different trip" thing is so real, I flipped the Wonderland at Rainier one year mostly by accident and the whole thing felt like a new hike. Weird how much a route's direction messes with your head more than your legs.

Dale was wrong. Your budget didn't fall apart, you just weren't counting everything.