Yesterday's Skyline

[Carl F]

Wow I wish I could say yes. You would need everyone from this board up there deciding what was the true path and then having the means to block off the old paths. Hope they're not Republicans, they might call for a Fillibuster


OK edit: How about asking for donations and then getting people to help restore the trail!

[Perry]

Funny! Makes me tired just thinking about it. I think we would have to kindly ask the shortcut people to please step on the boulders when taking the shortcuts. If they walked around the boulders a path would form, and new people would think that's the main path.

One issue I've been wondering is what GPS tracks to include when I re-upload the C2C Hiking Guide. The tracks I have are from 2004 and might actually get people lost on today's Skyline.

Another issue: what is the true history of the trail? Are there any reliable references or just rumors?

[Perry]

Replying to myself here: it would be easier to focus on the major erosion areas and not bother with the other parts.

[Zé]

plenty of discussion of this in previous, long threads:

http://www.mtsanjacinto.info/viewtopic.php?t=1183&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=erosion&start=15

http://www.mtsanjacinto.info/viewtopic.php?t=672&highlight=erosion

http://www.mtsanjacinto.info/viewtopic.php?t=2607&highlight=erosion

[zippetydude]

Yep, Ze. And I'll take the contrarian point; hopefully it won't get me in too much trouble, as this has been hashed out so many times before.

Remember, people, that the Skyline trail was not instituted at the dawn of time by God as the singular holy route up to Grubb's Notch. It's a trail. I'm a relative new comer, and I've only experienced it like it is now. I once took a newbie (my brother) up, and we tried to avoid all the short cuts. We weren't purists, we just wanted to savor the route. We passed (yes, we're among the hated trail runners who apparently love only ourselves and our ever shortening times) some hikers with huge backpacks at about mile 4. We passed them again at about mile 5. We stopped and talked with them, as this was kinda funny, and learned that they had taken THE shortcut, which is still the only big shortcut on the whole trail. That is now the main trail, and probably everyone who has posted here has taken that trail. (Sinners!)

What I'm saying here, and what I've posted in previous threads, is that the trail will continue to evolve as long as there are humans - imperfect, curious, fallible humans - on that trail. You can be a hate monger and speak horribly of all the people who don't take your enlightened trail, but that doesn't change the fact that people like exploring and that is why Skyline exists in the first place. If you say that only egotists pay attention to their time, c'mon, weren't you tempted to do Skyline because it's such a challenge? If so, does that make you an elevation egotist instead of a speed egotist? The cross country route I like best happens to be almost entirely boulder hopping, and as such it takes me longer than the traditional route. Should I hate myself because I have deviated from the prescribed route? Or should I hate myself because I'm not as fast that way? What if I don't hate myself at all? What if I don't talk smack about the people who intentionally or accidentally take different routes than I do?

This is generally a friendly forum. We can all get along. I rein in my feisty side because I enjoy the other people here, even those who sometimes disagree with me. It's not a bad thought for all of us to keep sarcasm and holier-than-thou posts as mild and open to suggestion as we can. Dontcha think?

z

[PatrickSupra]

Well said, z, well said.

[Cy Kaicener]

Here is a passage from a guide description about cutting trail

The initial part of this hike is on what's called the Skyline Trail - a loop of sorts that starts and ends in Palm Springs. This part of the hike seems to have been used and abused. Fellow hikers have "trailblazed" so many false trails, wrong turns and switchback cuts that you are guaranteed to lose your way ... at least briefly. It helps to remember that the only way you should be headed is "up", and sooner or later, you are back on track. Starting from the parking lot of the Desert Museum, you make

http://www.shyamal.com/Hikes/MtSanJ_C2C ... toC2C.html

[zippetydude]

Hi Cy. When are you going to be back out on Skyline?

I think bluerail is right in that the very beginning part of the trail probably isn't even skyline regulars; it looked exactly like it does now back when I first did it around 7 or 8 years ago. Back then, I would only see a couple of people on the trail most weekends, not nearly enough to create the myriad trails up to the picnic tables.

z

[bluerail]

reading the trip report Cy, makes me realize nobody has brought up the issue of shortcuts ( Sid Davis ?) up top....oh schnaap.

more to argue and get judgemental about....or, are "those" shortcuts ok ?

Nicely put put zip...but zealots will always be .....

[bluerail]

HEY !!!!! anybody wanna race ?!