Overheard a guy at the trailhead planning a 50-mile day hike

I was at the Mount Hood Wilderness permit office last week and this guy was telling his buddy he was going to do the Timberline Trail loop in a single day. That's over 40 miles with serious elevation. He had a tiny daypack and one water bottle. The ranger just looked at him and said, 'You know that's a 3 to 4 day trip for most, right?' The guy just shrugged and said he'd 'jog the flat parts.' It made me think about how people can totally misjudge a route's difficulty just by looking at a map. Have you ever seen someone attempt something on a trail that was just clearly a bad idea from the start?

3 comments

3 Comments

amy_anderson1mo ago

Oh, "jog the flat parts" is the new official motto for people who think a map is just a drawing with no consequences! I saw a guy try to summit a local peak in February wearing jeans and carrying a single granola bar, like he was popping out to get the mail. The confidence some people have with a total lack of gear is honestly impressive in a terrifying way. That guy on the Timberline is probably still out there, or he became a very fast lesson for the search and rescue volunteers.

mark_carr71mo ago

Exactly, @oscarc12 gets it. Saw a guy in sneakers on an ice field once.

oscarc121mo ago

That kind of confidence is a direct line to hypothermia or exhaustion. Maps don't show how your body breaks down after mile thirty. It's pure arrogance, not adventure.