High Sierra Topix

Well, there's this...

Class 1 X.

Seriously, with 4 or 5 different detour routes that get you seeing cool terrain not normally seen by PCT/JMT hikers, WTF PCTers.

commonloon wrote: ↑Thu Jun 22, 2023 8:28 amSeriously, with 4 or 5 different detour routes that get you seeing cool terrain not normally seen by PCT/JMT hikers, WTF PCTers.

I want to be able to say I hiked the PCT. Not a really awesome detour, duh. #lemmings #sorrythatwasoffensivetolemmings

And now, sadly, the countdown starts to someone dying. I find that IG posting irresponsible.

PCT hikers are, indeed, joining up with JMT and coming out at Bishop. I saw a couple of them when we were in Bishop at the Vons last weekend and wondered what they were doing there. Then I realized that it must be a detour, checked a few folks who are posting you tube videos and, sure enough, that is what they are doing.

Carne_DelMuerto wrote: ↑Thu Jun 22, 2023 9:17 am And now, sadly, the countdown starts to someone dying. I find that IG posting irresponsible.

That sort of move is one of those that starts easy and then muscle fatigue sets in halfway across and you're screwed.

Adding to the discussion here. It is definitely sketchy and looks even scarier if you take into account these other perspectives. Looks like the abutment is ready to go too.

https://www.reddit.com/r/JMT/comments/1 ... er_bridge/

On the question of detours: The Hell For Sure route has a lot of High Mountain Route History behind it, and only skips a few miles of trail, from the Evo junction to the MTR cutoff. HFS was travelled by Joseph N Leconte, Theodore Solomons, Walter A Starr and Stephen Mather in the course of exploration and establishment of this Trail. No question it adds value.

treks wrote: ↑Sat Jul 01, 2023 12:24 pm ..looks even scarier if you take into account these other perspectives. Looks like the abutment is ready to go too.

"Looks" describes a subjective, visual impression, not the actual physical attributes of the subject mater. Hanging from a thin climbing rope looks very scary to most people, yet it can hold the weight of several people.

An alternative interpretation to the bridge footing question: Note, the lateral beam leading from dislodged footing is bent next to where the beam is lagged to the dislodged concrete footing. That tells a story. The the bridge sustained a very heavy load during the event that lead to its current status, enough force to dislodge the footing. Yet the bridge structure remains in one piece, albeit significantly contorted. The question is how solid is it under foot? Given this current bridge configuration is able to stay put, regardless the bridge itself weighs at least 20X a large person, and previously supported an even more massive snow load without collapsing, indicates it probably can tolerate the weight of a hiker and their kit.

Had this been a large tree trunk we would lack the architectural reference for what passes for as a "good" versus "sketchy" crossing, and evaluate the crossing on the merits of how solid it feels on contact, versus the optics. There have been numerous instances where I encountered logs spanning dangerous torrents. They often were slippery, shifted under foot, and had equally long falls to the water below. Yet these crossing were accepted by most trail hikers. I think seeing a twisted, manmade structure distorts our judgment. It is probably very sound for crossing, albeit not user friendly; but how safe is a mater of the individual's skill and strength; the challenge is very much like the monkey bars/jungle gym playground equipment we used to routinely scamper over in our youth. I agree someone may have a fateful encounter with this crossing, but it will be due to falling from the bridge, not the bridge falling or breaking up.
Ed

So when are going to cross it?