Found a shortcut on the Pacific Crest Trail near Crater Lake

Last August, I took a side trail marked as 'unmaintained' on the map about 2 miles south of the rim. It shaved off 3 miles and saved me an hour of hiking through switchbacks, but I had to scramble over a fallen log bridge. Has anyone else tried unofficial shortcuts that actually worked out?

2 comments

2 Comments

kelly_nelson959d ago

That shortcut near Crater Lake sounds like a solid find if you're comfortable with a little bushwhacking. @anna_fox7, maybe your buddy just picked the wrong trail, because sometimes the "unmaintained" routes are the most direct ones. I followed an old logging road off the PCT in Washington and it cut two miles off my day without any major backtracking.

anna_fox79d ago

My buddy Mark tried a shortcut near the John Muir Trail last summer. He ended up in a dry creek bed for an hour and had to backtrack up a steep hill. He said it wasn't worth it.