TIL a shortcut on the Pacific Crest Trail near Tahoe saves about 8 miles of boring switchbacks

Last month I was hiking the PCT just south of Lake Tahoe and an older guy told me about a cutoff trail locals use to skip a long, dusty section. I followed a faint path he pointed out and ended up cutting 8 miles off my day, but it was pretty steep in spots. Honestly, has anyone else found random shortcuts that actually worked out on long trails?

2 comments

2 Comments

graydavis4h ago

... and my buddy swears he found a trail like that on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia. He said it cut off a big loop but dropped him straight into a swampy mess with no blazes for like two hours. Took him longer to get back on track than if he'd just stuck to the normal boring path.

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williams.jenny3h ago

Your buddy is not alone, that exact thing happened to me in the Shenandoahs. I saw what looked like a nice shortcut on a side trail and it dumped me into a bog with mud up to my knees and bugs everywhere. Took me over an hour to find my way back because the trail just disappeared into the weeds. I ended up soaking wet and covered in scrapes from pushing through briars. Never again, I stay on the marked path no matter how long it seems.