claire_grant34•1mo agoMost Upvoted

Met a retired park ranger on the High Sierra Trail last June who showed me a shortcut

I was hiking alone near Bearpaw Meadow around mile 30 and stopped to filter water. This older guy walked up and pointed to a faint trail I would have missed completely. He said 'that cuts off a mile and a half of switchbacks if you don't mind a bit of scree.' I followed it and it saved me about 45 minutes on a long day. Anyone else ever get a tip from a stranger on the trail that actually worked?

3 comments

3 Comments

irisowens1mo ago

That shortcut doesn't sound like it's that big of a deal.

michael_green441mo ago

Hear me out though - I've been burned by shortcuts that seemed harmless. The thing is, small cuts can add up over time (both in code and in real life). It's easy to wave off little things until you're staring at a bigger mess later on.

the_paul1mo ago

Yeah, that "small cuts can add up over time" part hit home for me. I did a quick fix on a payment module once thinking it was harmless, and three months later we had to rebuild half the checkout flow because of it. It's crazy how a tiny shortcut can snowball into something way bigger than you expected.