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Which side of the trail do you walk when the path is washed out? My usual route near Clear Creek gave out after the heavy rain last Tuesday.

I was hiking the Clear Creek loop last weekend and found a 20 foot section of trail completely collapsed from erosion. You had to either scramble up the muddy bank or cross through the creek itself. I chose the creek crossing and soaked my boots halfway up. So which is safer: climbing the loose dirt or getting wet feet and risking a slip on slick rocks? I'm curious how other backpackers handle this kind of thing.
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matthewkim
matthewkim24d ago
Did you try going through the creek instead? Honest answer, I had the exact same problem at Clear Creek two weeks ago and went with the climb up the bank. @casey16, that slide sounds brutal, I got lucky and made it up but the dirt was so loose I had to dig my trekking poles in HARD to keep from slipping back down. Next time I'm just taking the wet boots, at least you know what you're getting into instead of guessing with that mud.
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jones.anna
jones.anna23d ago
Wet boots are way better than a muddy slide, @matthewkim.
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casey16
casey1624d ago
Used to always scramble the bank until I slipped and slid ten feet on my backside.
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