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Almost took the shortcut around Mount Hood last August because my buddy swore it saved 2 hours, and I still think about what could have happened
My friend and I were doing the Timberline Trail loop in Oregon last August and we hit that junction near Ramona Falls where you can either stay on the main trail or cut up through a washout area that some folks use as a shortcut. He kept pushing for the shortcut, saying he had done it twice before and it shaved off a solid 2 hours, and honestly I was tired and my feet were wrecked so I almost said yes. But something about the scree and the way the trail disappeared into that loose rock made me nervous, so I put my foot down and we took the longer route. About a mile in we ran into a guy coming the other way who said he had just watched a hiker slip on that same shortcut and take a bad tumble down toward the creek. We ended up helping flag down a ranger and waiting with the guy for almost an hour before they got him stabilized. Every time I think about saving 2 hours versus what that shortcut could have cost us, I get a little sick to my stomach. Has anyone else run into a spot where the shortcut just is not worth the risk, and how do you talk your hiking partner out of it?
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leo_jackson151d ago
Watched a buddy freeze up on a sketchy snow bridge near Adams last spring and we had to backtrack three miles in the dark. Pointing at the actual rockfall scars usually shuts down the shortcut talk faster than arguing about time.
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