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Overheard two guys at the trailhead talking about a 'shortcut' on the Timberline Loop

I was gearing up at the Cloud Cap trailhead last weekend and heard these two guys planning to take a 'shortcut' off the main Timberline Loop to save a few miles. They were pointing at a vague line on their phone map, saying it looked like an old game trail. That set off all my alarm bells, man. I've been hiking that area for years, and those unofficial paths are usually just erosion gullies or dead ends that crumble into steep scree fields. I politely butted in and told them that exact 'shortcut' washed out in a slide three seasons back and now drops straight into a nasty ravine. They seemed a bit annoyed at first, but I showed them on my paper map where the actual trail goes. It just made me think how easy it is to get lured off route by something that looks simple on a screen. Has anyone else run into people seriously considering risky off-trail moves based on a bad map?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sam17d agoMost Upvoted

Good on you for speaking up, that's how accidents get prevented. It's wild how a little blue line on a screen can override common sense about terrain. I always carry a paper map as a backup reality check.

barbaramorgan17d agoMost Upvoted

Wait, you still carry a paper map? I figured that was a dead art. I don't even know where I'd buy one anymore.