I finally tried a shortcut on the Timberline Trail and it totally backfired lol

So last weekend I was doing the full loop around Mt. Hood and decided to cut off a couple miles by taking the unofficial 'Palmers Spur' trail down to the river crossing. I'd seen it marked on an old paper map and figured it would save me an hour. Big mistake. The trail was basically a steep, overgrown slide of loose scree and downed trees. Took me twice as long to navigate down, and I ended up with a small tear in my rain jacket from a sharp branch. The lesson? Sometimes the official, longer route is the better one for a reason, especially when it's maintained. Has anyone else gotten burned by a tempting shortcut on a big loop hike?

2 comments

2 Comments

robinl903d ago

Oh man, that sounds rough... reminds me of trying to find a "faster" way through the woods behind my old place. Ended up in a patch of thorns that tore up my jeans pretty good.

emma_young3d ago

Ugh, that's the worst! Did you at least find a decent path after the thorns, or was the whole trip a bust? Sounds like a classic shortcut fail.