TIL that following a 'scenic detour' marker on the High Sierra Trail led me straight into a patch of aggressively curious marmots

I was attempting a three-day section of the High Sierra Trail (which, for context, is usually breathtaking) when I spotted a hand-carved sign pointing to a 'scenic overlook' off the main path. The 'detour' quickly vanished into a boulder field, and I soon found myself surrounded by a committee of marmots who seemed determined to inspect every buckle on my pack (one even tried to nibble my hipbelt, which was both alarming and weirdly polite). After an hour of gentle shooing and backtracking through loose scree, I realized the sign was likely a prank from a previous hiker, and the only view I gained was of very persistent rodents.

3 comments

3 Comments

mitchell.sarah1mo ago

Marmot mischief. Stumbling into a marmot committee after a fake detour is peak trail humor. Why do they always go for the gear, like your hipbelt was a new snack? It's wild how a simple sign can turn a hike into an awkward wildlife standoff. You have to admit, the person who made that sign put in effort for a good laugh. But seriously, who checks for marmot approval before following a scenic route?

danielhenderson1mo ago

My buddy Alex once followed a 'shortcut' marker in the Rockies that ended up being a joke from local kayakers. It led him to a riverbank where a family of beavers had dammed the path, and they were not pleased to see him. He spent twenty minutes trying to backtrack while the beavers slapped their tails and chattered angrily. The only shortcut he found was a very wet and muddy lesson in not trusting handwritten signs in the wilderness. He said the beavers seemed to guard that dam like it was their own personal fortress. Funny now, but he was pretty annoyed at the time.

gibson.jesse1mo ago

Seriously, those beavers were slapping their tails? I always thought that was just something from cartoons. In real life, beavers are usually pretty docile unless provoked, but guarding their dam like a fortress sounds next level. And the fact that local kayakers set up a fake shortcut marker is both cruel and kind of hilarious. Alex must have been furious, especially getting all wet and muddy while dealing with angry wildlife. I've had my share of misadventures in the woods, but never with beavers on the warpath.