[pct-l] Don't be a fool....

[Barry Teschlog]

...And skip the new section of the PCT heading to the Suiattle River to "save" a few miles.  IMO this is a horrible false economy of miles, much as the road walk through Stevenson up to Panther Creek is a false economy compared to hiking the trail proper leaving the Bridge of the Gods, only far, FAR worse.

If you skip the 3 to 4 extra miles (versus the old route) new section of PCT and the new bridge over the Suiattle, you'll be missing out on what I'd consider one of the best pieces of scenery the PCT has to offer, bar none.  It's what I'd refer to as "The Grove of the Giants".  There are multiple enormous cedar and firs that you hike amongst - we're talking so massive* that 3' diameter trees look like saplings by way of comparison.  These trees are easily 8 to 10 feet in diameter.  The magnitude of these trees are such that it's hard to appreciate unless you stand back a couple hundred feet with a person at the base of one for reference.  Seen in this relation, the scope becomes apparent.

* - huge, enormous, gigantic, immense, colossal, vast

In fact, IMO I'd recommend taking extra food out of Stevens Pass so that one could linger here for a while to soak in the magnitude.

I'll add that these extra miles versus the old route are easy miles, so the time you'll spend hiking them is pretty trivial.  You'll likely waste almost as much time trying to cross Vista Creek and the Suiattle on logs and fighting your way on the unmaintained old trail compared to hiking the easy extra miles on the new trail.

Oh, and the new bridge over the Suiattle is an engineering marvel, blah, blah, blah....silly little puny work of man.
IMO.  2 cents.  HYOH.  Opinions worth what you paid for them.  Yadda, yadda, yadda.......