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Warning: My buddy told me to skip the switchbacks on a trail in Colorado and I almost got stuck
Last fall I was hiking the Four Pass Loop near Aspen. My friend Mark, who'd done it before, said 'Just cut straight up the slope, the switchbacks are for tourists.' I listened to him on the way up Buckskin Pass. It was a brutal, straight-up climb that wrecked my legs. On the way down, the loose scree was so bad I actually slid about 20 feet and had to grab a bush to stop. My knees were killing me for two days after. Turns out those 'tourist' trails are there for erosion control and safety. Has anyone else had a friend give them trail advice that totally backfired? What did you learn?
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dixon.david7h ago
My cousin did the same thing on a scree slope in Montana and sprained his ankle. @alex820 is right about ignoring that advice, because the real danger is coming back down when you're tired. Those switchbacks are built by people who know a lot more about gravity than my buddy Mark.
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