My worst trail day ever turned into something good

Last August I was hiking the Highline Trail in Glacier and about 6 miles in my water bladder sprung a leak inside my pack. Everything got soaked, including my map which turned into a soggy mess. I had to stop and dump out all my gear on a rocky slope just to figure out what was wet. A group of hikers from Missoula came by and one of them had an extra dry bag they gave me. I ended up hiking the rest of the day with them and they showed me a cutoff that shaved off 3 miles of switchbacks. The bladder failure was a total pain in the neck but meeting those folks made that day weirdly memorable. Has anyone else had a gear failure that ended up leading to a better experience on the trail?

3 comments

3 Comments

knight.dylan5h ago

Did you leave any dry parts of your pride on that rocky slope like I did?

ellis.faith5h ago

That 400-foot descent off the south face of Granite Peak last summer was where I left a good chunk of my ego. I was too stubborn to bail when the weather turned, and ended up sliding half the way down on my backside, soaked and humbled. Your mileage may vary, but sometimes you just gotta accept the mountain wins that round.

emma_flores4h ago

Honestly @knight.dylan, isn't that just the usual way down a mountain, not a life lesson?