That's one thing I love about longer backpacking trips. I did the John Muir Trail this summer, with 18 days available. There are only a few feasible bailout opp

That's one thing I love about longer backpacking trips. I did the John Muir Trail this summer, with 18 days available. There are only a few feasible bailout opportunities, and virtually none in the last half (going southbound). I like the feeling that after a day or two you are essentially fully committed. Of course there are options in the case of injury or other emergency, but if you're just worn out and homesick (which definitely happened) your best option is to just keep chugging along. We ended up taking a full unplanned rest day in the middle, and still finished a day early.