[pct-l] Trail section in Goat Rocks being rebuilt

[Diane Soini]

I hiked this section in 2009 and I'm pretty sure my Wilderness Press  
guidebook listed the glacier route as the "official" trail and the  
Old Snowy route as a strongly recommended alternative.

I met a SOBO hiker (who had thru-hiked in 1977!) with a huge bloody  
gash on his knee. He warned me to not take the official trail but do  
the Old Snowy route instead because the official trail is how he got  
the injury. When I got to the trail I took one look at it and  
immediately decided it looked like a death trap. I did the Old Snowy  
route and found it exhilarating and exciting, a real highlight to my  
entire trip. I'm glad they are going to keep this route available. I  
would choose it even if the glacier route is improved.

One thing I enjoyed about the Oregon/Washington section was how there  
were so many alternates. Sometimes I chose the good ones and other  
times I did not. I never felt I was "cheating". The only time I ever  
felt I was "cheating" was when I decided to hike the Grand Canyon of  
the Tuolumne rather than the official trail. God that was so  
breathtakingly beautiful. I cheated on the PCT those two days, hiking  
in low elevation with warm nights, fewer bugs, gorgeous waterfalls  
and cliffs and in the company of some really nice people. Another  
highlight for me.

Diane

On Aug 28, 2013, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> From: Betty Wheeler <bettywheeler at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Trail section in Goat Rocks being rebuilt
>
>
> If I understand correctly from the prior signage, plus the trail
> designations on halfmile's map, the lower route was previously  
> designated
> as the stock route and the upper route was designated as the hiker  
> route,
> but both were official routes, or as you call it, "the REAL trail." In
> actuality, when we started our work on the stock route, it was in  
> such bad
> shape that it seemed very unlikely that stock could use it, and at  
> least
> one hiker backtracked after trying to cross it from the south end,  
> deeming
> it too sketchy. I hiked both routes at the midpoint of our work  
> week, and
> personally thought the stock route was much sketchier than the  
> hiker route,
> because there was no trail at all through a steep talus/ice/snow  
> section,
> with slate-type rocks that were quite slippery. A Sept. 2012 report  
> on the
> condition and dangers of the stock trail can be read here:
> http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report. 
> 2012-09-05.1055658529
>
> Having said that, even with the trail formerly known as the stock  
> trail in
> better shape, as it will be shortly, I would personally opt for the  
> higher
> route in most cases (except perhaps in high wind, no view conditions),
> since the views are even more spectacular than those from the stock  
> route.
> However, I'm not the kind of person who would be concerned that  
> someone
> will conclude that I didn't hike "the" PCT because in a stretch of  
> less
> than one mile, I opted for a designated PCT alternate route.
>
> As to why the decision was made to change the signage, I can only
> speculate. It may be that because the entire PCT is supposed to be  
> open to
> riders and their horses as well as hikers, the powers-that-be  
> decided that
> the former stock trail should be the official trail, since it is  
> can be
> navigated by both hikers and stock, while the higher route should  
> be marked
> "PCT alternate - Old Snowy," since many people would be interested in
> opting for that route.