Tried a shortcut through bishop pass and nearly got stuck overnight

I figured I could save 3 hours by cutting across a sketchy snowfield on Bishop Pass last weekend instead of taking the switchbacks down... but the snow was way softer than I thought and I postholed up to my waist four times before I gave up and backtracked. My legs were completely shot by the time I got back to the trail, and I barely made it to camp before dark. Has anyone else gotten burned by a shortcut that looked fine on the map but turned into a nightmare on the ground?

2 comments

2 Comments

drew80527d agoTop Commenter

Did your buddy Mike ever tell you about his shortcut on the Middle Fork trail? He saw a game trail on the map and figured it'd cut off a mile. Turns out it was a dead end into a thick patch of manzanita that tore up his arms and legs. He spent 45 minutes fighting through it and ended up having to backtrack, which put him on the trail way later than planned. His hands looked like he lost a fight with a wolverine for a week after.

dakotam1726d ago

A 45 minute detour isn't exactly wolverine fight territory.