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?

3 comments

3 Comments

graydavis10d agoProlific Poster

... 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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joelt708d ago

but heres the thing i want to know from @williams.jenny did you actually see any footprints or signs of other people on that shortcut before you took it? cause thats what gets me every time. if the trail looks used and has some boot prints you figure its probably okay, but then it just vanishes. these short cuts look tempting as hell on the map too, like youre saving a mile or two, but they always seem to lead straight into a mess.

williams.jenny10d 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.