My buddy insisted I skip the switchbacks on the PCT near Mount Hood

He said it would save an hour, but the 'shortcut' was a washed-out scree slope that took me three hours to navigate safely. Anyone else been given terrible route advice that sounded good at the time?

4 comments

4 Comments

lilya763mo agoMost Upvoted

Worst advice I ever got was from a guidebook that was ten years out of date.

torres.thea1mo ago

Assume the old guidebook still listed a trailhead parking lot that was turned into a housing development five years ago. Watched a family sit in their car for twenty minutes circling a neighborhood before they gave up and left. Sometimes the worst outdated advice isn't about the trail itself but just getting to it.

the_linda3mo ago

Honestly, shortcuts on trails are almost never worth it. That scree slope by Hood is a known problem, people get stuck there every season. Tbh I've learned to just smile and nod when someone suggests cutting switchbacks, then do the real trail anyway. A lost hour is way better than a busted ankle or a full-on rescue call. Always check recent trail reports if you can, conditions change fast.

linda1143mo ago

Check those old guidebooks for the stories, not the routes. @lilya76 is right, a decade changes everything from washouts to new fences. Honestly, I saw a guy last year try a "shortcut" from a 2012 book and he ended up waist-deep in a creek that wasn't on the map. What's the most outdated trail tip you've actually seen someone try to follow?