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Got turned around on the High Sierra Trail near Hamilton Lake last fall
I was hiking the High Sierra Trail solo in October, aiming to make it to Precipice Lake by sunset. The trail was clear until I hit a big rock slide about a mile past Hamilton Lake. The cairns just stopped, and the path on my map was totally buried under fresh scree. I spent a good hour scrambling over loose rock, trying to find where the trail picked up again on the other side. My GPS was useless because it just showed the old, now-gone trail line. I finally backtracked and found a faint use trail that cut high up the slope, which got me around it. That detour added like two extra miles and a bunch of elevation gain I hadn't planned for. Has anyone else hit that slide and found a better way through, or know if the park service has fixed it since?
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daniel5526d ago
Man, that exact slide got me last September. GPS was a total liar too. I ended up doing the same thing, backtracking like crazy until I spotted that sketchy high route. Sucked, but it worked. Heard from a ranger in Lone Pine that they might mark a proper detour next season, but for now, it's just that loose scramble.
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