Old timer told me to skip the switchbacks on Mount Whitney, worst decision ever

Last summer I was hiking the Mount Whitney trail and ran into this guy at Trail Camp who looked like he'd been hiking since before I was born. He told me to cut the switchbacks near Trail Crest because it would save me an hour and the scramble was easy. I figured he knew what he was talking about so I followed his advice. Turned out the "shortcut" was loose scree on a steep slope and I nearly slid 50 feet down the mountain. Took me an extra two hours to get back on track and I was shaking the whole time. My buddy who stayed on the main trail beat me to the summit by 45 minutes. Has anyone else taken bad advice from a stranger on a trail and regretted it?

3 comments

3 Comments

evaallen17h ago

@jessica_ross38 nailed it, that old timer was definitely testing you or just clueless.

gracewebb20h ago

Wait, a guy who looked like he'd been hiking since before you were born told you to skip the switchbacks on Mount Whitney? That's terrifying. I've done Whitney twice and those switchbacks are there for a reason, the scree is no joke. That guy must have been messing with you or just completely out of his mind. Glad you didn't go sliding all the way down, that could have ended so much worse. Your buddy who stayed on the trail was smart, sometimes the old guys just want to watch the world burn.

jessica_ross3818h ago

Man I still can't get over the fact that someone actually suggested skipping the switchbacks. That's like telling someone to ignore a blinking red light at a train crossing lol. The scree on that mountain is basically loose gravel on top of more loose gravel, one wrong step and you're sliding fifty feet before you even know what happened. Your buddy who stayed on the trail was definitely the smart one, sometimes those old dudes just want to see if you'll actually listen to bad advice. People have gotten seriously hurt trying to cut corners up there, it's not worth saving twenty minutes just to risk breaking an ankle or worse. Glad you trusted your gut on that one.