That river crossing shortcut cost me $300 in gear

I tried to save 2 miles on the Lost Coast Trail by following a dry creek bed down to the beach instead of staying on the main route. Big mistake. The creek turned into a waterfall about 50 feet down and I had to scramble back up loose rocks, slipping twice. My tent got torn on a sharp stone, my sleeping pad punctured, and I lost a trekking pole somewhere in the canyon. That was a $300 mistake minimum, not counting the $60 I paid for a replacement pack liner at the outfitter in Ferndale. Has anyone else taken a "shortcut" that totally backfired like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

finleyw992mo ago

Man that "shortcut" thing really resonates with me. I notice the same pattern everywhere, not just on trails. People will take a detour to save five minutes and end up losing an hour because they didn't see the whole picture. Your story is a perfect example of that. We get so focused on the short term gain that we ignore the obvious risks staring us in the face. It's like when someone tries to cut across a parking lot to avoid a red light and ends up stuck behind a bus for ten minutes. I've done it myself a dozen times, just with smaller stakes.

paigem4519d ago

Is it weird that I used to kind of think shortcuts were just being smart, not lazy? Like I thought you were some kind of genius if you found a faster way, even if it was risky. But @finleyw99 I gotta say, your parking lot example really changed my mind about that. It's like the whole "manage your time" advice we get, but people forget that sometimes the long way is actually the fastest because you don't get stuck. Makes me wonder how many dumb little decisions I've made trying to save two minutes.

drew_park2mo ago

Reminds me of the time I tried to save time by cutting through a meadow and ended up in waist-deep mud.