PSA: Nearly got stuck overnight on the High Sierra Trail last August when a washed-out bridge forced a 5-mile detour.

My group had to backtrack to a ranger station near Crescent Meadow to get an alternate route map, which added 3 hours to our day and meant hiking the last bit in the dark with headlamps. Has anyone else had to deal with a major trail reroute like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_alex11h ago

Actually, the ranger station maps are often out of date by the time you get them. Trail conditions change fast, especially after storms. That detour probably wasn't even on the old map they gave you.

daniel_cooper3411h ago

Wasn't the detour on the map already? Seems like a long walk but not exactly a survival situation.

torres.blair11h ago

My sense of direction is so bad I’d probably get lost in my own living room. A detour on a map is just a friendly suggestion my brain chooses to ignore. Give me a straight line and I’ll still find a way to turn it into a three hour ordeal. It becomes a survival situation when you’re as directionally challenged as I am. Trust me, I’ve turned a ten minute walk into a whole afternoon adventure before.