Warning: that popular shortcut on the Pacific Crest Trail near Tuolumne Meadows is getting dangerous

I hiked that section last week and almost slid off a 30 foot ledge trying to follow the unofficial bypass. The trail is all eroded from the snowmelt this year and there's no clear path anymore. A ranger I talked to said 3 people have twisted ankles there just this month. Save yourself the trouble and stick to the official PCT route even if it adds 2 miles. Has anyone else noticed how bad the side trails are getting out there?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamieh761mo agoMost Upvoted

Did your friend mention the part where the gravel just gives way like loose marbles? My buddy Steve tried that same bypass a couple weeks ago. He was almost down when a rock flipped over and he tumbled into a bush full of thorns. Took him twenty minutes to pick all the stickers out of his shirt and shorts. His ankle was swollen for days after. He said he'd rather do the extra two miles carrying a watermelon than go near that shortcut again.

rivershah1mo ago

Thorns in the shorts - that's a special kind of misery. Poor Steve probably couldn't sit right for a week. Twenty minutes picking stickers out of your clothes while standing on a hillside sounds like a nightmare I don't wish on anyone. I bet his ankle still gives him trouble when the weather changes.

morgan.joseph28d ago

Wait actually I gotta say something about that. That thing where the gravel shifts and slides like loose marbles? That's not really the gravel's fault, it's the shale underneath. I've hiked that area a bunch and the top layer might look solid but there's a thin layer of decomposed shale that just crumbles under any real weight. Steve probably hit a spot where the shale was wet too, which makes it way worse. I know because my cousin almost broke his ankle on the same kind of terrain near Mockingbird Ridge. He said the whole hillside felt like walking on a pile of potato chips lol. So yeah, the gravel just sitting on top of that crumbly shale is a recipe for disaster. Tell Steve to avoid any spots where the ground looks kind of grayish and flaky, that's the bad stuff.