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The time I picked the 'shortcut' on the Lost Coast Trail
Last fall, my group had to choose between the official 25 mile route or a 4 mile beach scramble marked on an old map. We went for the shortcut to save a day. Big mistake, because the tide came in fast and we got stuck for three hours on a tiny rock shelf. My buddy actually said, 'Well, this is cozy,' as a wave soaked his pack. Anyone else have a trail shortcut that turned into a much longer adventure?
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andrew_shah5mo ago
That exact thing happened to me on the Olympic coast. The tide charts said 3:15 PM, but the surge started rolling in hard by 2:30. Now I always add a two hour buffer, minimum, and I physically circle the safe exit points on my paper map with a red pen. If you can't see your next escape route, you've already gone too far.
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hollyscott5mo ago
Remember watching a sea stack get cut off near La Push, @andrew_shah. My group was fine, but a couple ahead of us had to wade through knee-deep, icy water to get back because they missed the turn. It's that sneaky, fast water that finds the low spots you don't see.
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johnson.eva3mo ago
Wait, am I reading that right @hollyscott? The water found low spots you couldn't see, not just the trail getting covered? That's even scarier honestly, like the tide sneaks up through the sand itself.
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finley_smith5mo ago
Heard a ranger call that "tide complacency," lol.
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