Ever try mixing both ways? I do graphic work and start every project with a cheap sketchbook. Just rough stuff, lines and boxes. Then I take a phone pic and bring it into the computer to clean up. The first idea gets born on paper, where it feels loose. The computer part is for making it sharp and sendable. That middle step, the photo, bridges the messy start and the clean finish. Lets me keep that hands-on spark without getting stuck in the past.

Man, my buddy Nate ran into the same problem last fall. He found an old fire road that connects to the Hemlock Valley trail from the north parking lot. Have you checked the park map for those smaller connector paths?

After a similar job on a gravel strip in Montana, I started packing a headlamp and a compact vise in my kit. You can rig a workbench from a couple of saw horses and a plank if you have to. The company will always call it a one-off until you bill them for the extra time spent fighting poor conditions. Now my personal tool roll weighs more than my luggage, but at least the job gets done right.