Apt trail descriptions?

We (& everyone else in CA it seemed) hiked to Cathedral Lakes this Sunday, first time we've been there. On the way back I was thinking of Schaffer's simple words describing this trail.

"Now on the John Muir Trail, which has come west to this junction, we climb moderately up a stretch that can at times be objectionably dusty due to humus mixing with the abundance of glacial deposits."

Anyway, it was a really dusty trail, and I thought to myself, by adding that simple adverb (?) objectionably, the author has made it clear it is very dusty, and so much that it is annoying.

What other trail descriptions have you read that have stayed with you?



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I don't know if this phrase is in the current Schaffer edition, but "the Forsyth trail, not worth taking" came up recently.

Another favorite was something along the lines of: "as always, the panting Sierra hiker is rewarded with ever-improving views."

And, from last weekend (TR in progress...): "delicious"

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basilbop
Another favorite was something along the lines of: "as always, the panting Sierra hiker is rewarded with ever-improving views."

Hiking up the Spooky Meadow trail almost a month ago I encountered two hikers who exclaimed "the Sierras don't mess around, do they".

Anyway, I asked where they were from...the answer was Kansas City, their first trip to CA. They had hiked up Kearsarge Pass, then were hiking this trail to the PCT, then over Donohue Pass to Tuolumne Meadows. And they really did seem to be appreciating the scenery they were encountering.

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basilbop
I don't know if this phrase is in the current Schaffer edition, but "the Forsyth trail, not worth taking" came up recently.

Google only found the reference in the old edition, but it's in the 5th edition twice: page 222 and 231.

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basilbop
Another favorite was something along the lines of: "as always, the panting Sierra hiker is rewarded with ever-improving views."

I recall the phrase similarly to Basilbop, probably from an earlier edition of the book I cannot find anymore... but the 5th edition Schaffer book seems to say: The panting hiker is rewarded with increasing good views.

I love Shaffer, although I don't always agree with him. He refers to
"Rather bleak Buena Vista Lake" - he must have been having an off day.



In his book The Tahoe Sierra he states "Only seasoned botanists or hikers hell bent for punishment will want to take the grueling Ralston Peak Trail".

I always feel like I know what I'm getting into with a Jeffery Schaffer guide.

I was reading through Schaffer's description of the Happy Isles - Vernal Fall Bridge - Vernal Fall - Nevada Fall loop, and came across this gem: "Entering forest shade once more, you ascend a steep stretch of trail before making a quick drop to the Vernal Fall bridge...Just beyond the bridge are restrooms and an emergency telephone (for emergencies such as heart attacks or slips on dangerous rocks)."



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 12/05/2016 12:26AM by Not quite The Geezer, but getting there.

It's not a trail description per se because there's no trail, but Steve Roper's guide to the Sierra High Route refers to "the barren, uninteresting basin at the headwaters of Hutching Creek."

I've been going up there from the Lyell Fork of the Merced on and off for 40 years, and have yet to feel disinterested.