I agree with W_D too. I often say I don't commit to, or plan, a certain number of miles, and I generally don't. Often what I do is go wandering around all day through pretty tough terrain and I can get pretty worn out doing it. I do that a lot. I don't often rush around, I meander, but I often keep moving all day long.

I've taken hours rambling over just a few GPS measured miles, but was climbing up or down steep hills the entire way, pushing my way through brush and bramble, crawling over and under downed trees, and back tracking to work my way around some kind of obstacle or another. So, at the end of the day, I can be pretty exhausted. These are the kinds of trips I take when I'm feeling antsy and full of wanderlust. They are the only cure I know.

Because that has always been one of my approaches to day hiking and backpacking, trails always seem comparatively easy, for me, in fact, they feel a bit like cheating and a sort of luxury I shouldn't let myself succumb to. The steep hills are still tough to climb when I'm on a trail, but they sure get climbed a lot quicker.

But I do go back to super scenic spots I find on my aimless rambles with the intention of spending time there. On those trips I will sit and relax more, and explore in fine detail a smaller area without carrying a pack. Around here, it's not uncommon to find a hidden cave entrance that's only a few feet in diameter, or a spring that creates a pool of water that perks and gurgles water that disappears underground just a few yards away. It's said that there are potentially thousands of caves here still undiscovered. The Entrances come and go too. One may collapse and be hidden and another may be exposed that's been hiding for no one knows how long. There are places here that are so full of wonderful nooks and crannies and hidden springs that they almost demand your attention to their finely detailed beauty.

For me, those trips have a similar experience of feeling to what it was like to hike to a grove of Sequoias. Maybe it's just me, but once you get inside them it was different, and for lack of a better way to describe it, it is magical, and you feel it quite strong. On those kinds of trips I don't get worn out. They are relaxed and leisurely. Quite the opposite from the the first described, and just as necessary to maintain myself.