the_riley•22d agoMost Upvoted

That time a ranger told me to skip the North Cascades in June

I was planning a 5 day loop in the North Cascades last spring and a ranger at the Marblemount station said the pass was still snowed in at 5000 feet. I figured she was just being cautious so I went anyway and spent 3 days postholing through knee deep slush before I turned back. Had I listened I could have saved myself a lot of misery and just done the lower elevation trails around Ross Lake. Has anyone else ignored ranger advice and regretted it?

2 comments

2 Comments

wrenh6522d ago

Learned that lesson the hard way myself a few years back in the Sierra. Ranger told me the trail was still buried under a couple feet of snow in late May but I was young and stubborn so I went anyway. Ended up having to cut my trip short by two days and wrecked my boots on the wet slush. Now I always check the ranger updates before I head out and I keep a backup plan for lower elevation stuff. Saved me a ton of grief just last spring when I switched to a valley hike instead of pushing a snowy ridge. Sometimes those rangers are actually right.

jennysullivan22d ago

Respect the rangers who actually admit when they're wrong about conditions too lol