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Unpopular opinion: I used to ignore established trails until a trip in the North Cascades last fall.
We tried to cut our own path to a lake and ended up wasting three hours in a dead end gully. Now I always check the Forest Service map for the official route first. Anyone else have a story about a shortcut that backfired?
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perry.evan2mo ago
Ever tried to shortcut through a scree field?
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kelly3852mo ago
Yeah @emma_clark is right, scree is a nightmare for that. I learned my lesson doing the same thing near a ridge in the Gifford Pinchot a couple years back. Thought I could just cut straight down to a stream and save a mile. Ended up sliding around on loose rocks for 45 minutes and almost twisted my ankle twice. Now I just pull up the Forest Service map on my phone before I leave and stick to the trail no matter what. It might add distance but it saves time and stress in the long run. Plus you don't have to deal with that sinking feeling when you realize you're totally off route.
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