High Sierra switchback route was a total grind, then I saw the map at 9,000 feet

I always picked the straightest line up a pass, but after hiking the Bishop Pass approach last month and watching three older hikers cruise past me on the longer switchback trail, I finally get why the zigzag saves your knees and your lungs, so are there other routes where the extra miles are actually the smart call?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabethtaylor19d ago

My buddy Tim swore by the long way up Whitney, saved his knees, beat me by an hour.

wrenh6521d ago

Took me about two days to learn this exact lesson on the Kearsarge Pass trail, where I basically turned my knees into pudding climbing the fallback route straight up. Meanwhile my buddy took the longer, gentle spur and showed up grinning like he just had a picnic. Now I just picture myself as a stubborn goat who refuses to use stairs, and suddenly a few extra miles feels like a genius move. Your mileage may vary, but if you like hiking downhill on jelly legs, go straight up every time.