A guy in a hostel bunk told me to ditch my guidebook in Banff

I spent 3 days planning this perfect route through the Rockies with my Lonely Planet, and some random traveler named Matt said to just pick a direction and walk. He argued that the best views come from wrong turns, not book recommendations. Turns out he was right about a hidden lake trail that wasn't listed anywhere, so how do you balance planning with just winging it?

2 comments

2 Comments

patriciareed10d ago

Matt telling you to toss the guidebook totally reminds me of this time in New Orleans when a bartender told me to ignore every map and just follow the sound of brass bands. I ended up in a courtyard with a second line parade that wasn't in any tourist pamphlet, eating gumbo from a random lady's cooler. The next day I tried to find it again with my phone map and walked three miles in the wrong direction before giving up. Now I make a habit of asking locals for their "wrong turn" spots first thing, then check my guidebook for the must sees. It's become my favorite travel game to weave the planned stuff with the chaotic finds.

hall.nina10d ago

That's a neat trick, asking locals for their wrong turn spots before diving into the guidebook. But doesn't that kind of defeat the whole point of the surprise? Like, once you know about a hidden lake or a secret courtyard, isn't it just a planned detour at that point? The magic of Matt's advice was the stumble itself, the feeling of finding something totally unexpected without a tip from anyone. How do you keep that raw discovery alive when you're actively hunting for it?