My cousin told me to skip the switchbacks on the Paria River trail and take the direct canyon route instead
He said it would save us 3 miles and an hour of hiking in the August heat. We tried it and ended up cliffed out twice, had to backtrack through loose scree, and nearly ran out of water before we even hit the halfway point. Now I'm questioning if he actually knew that shortcut or just guessed. On the other hand, maybe we just picked the wrong spot to drop down and it works fine for folks who know the terrain. Has anyone else taken that direct line off the Paria and actually made it work without trouble?