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<\/a>A more lyrical way to describe a hike’s difficulty: “Trail Beyond Here is Steeper But Very Scenic”<\/p><\/div>\n
Perhaps such bias arises from ignorance, I muse. While most hikers can define a switchback (a trail that follows a zigzag course on a steep incline) and know one when they see one, it\u2019s obvious detractors don\u2019t grasp why the switchbacking way is so wonderful: it\u2019s lots easier zigzagging up the shoulder of a mountain than taking a straight line up it. California\u2019s recreation trails are ranked among the world\u2019s best, in part because they use so many switchbacks to reach so much beauty.<\/p>\n
Ah, the beauty. Switchbacking up Saddle Peak in the lovely Santa Monica Mountains. Switchbacking up Mt. Whitney on those 97 superbly graded switchbacks hewn out of granite \u2014one of the finest examples in America of the trail builder\u2019s art\u2014at sunrise when the switchbacks slowly turn pink, then a magnificent fiery orange\u2026<\/p>\n
The sound of a cell phone ringing ends my reverie and draws my attention down to Sox, two switchbacks below. As I zig north and he zags south, I overhear Sox tell his caller: \u201cThis crazy guy I met likes these *#$@@% switchbacks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Switchback haters like Sox seem to be divided into two camps: some would prefer to eliminate them altogether in favor of straight Point A to Point B style pathways; others regard them as an unavoidable necessity that gets you up a mountain at a maddeningly slow pace. Sure you gain elevation, but so slowly that the trail becomes repetitive and the trudge becomes a drudge.<\/p>\n
New England Switchbacks<\/h2>\n
You don\u2019t know what you\u2019ve to \u2018til it\u2019s gone and even I never fully appreciated the switchback until I hiked in the eastern U.S. A decade ago I was commissioned to write a book about the great hikes of New England and before I hit the trail wondered: After ascending the West\u2019s great mountains, how difficult could it be for me to summit a piddley, 3,000-foot peak?<\/p>\n
Very difficult, I discovered, because New England trails lack switchbacks. In fact, New Englanders take a perverse pride in the steepness of a trail. Slogging up a trench-like trail eroded down to the bedrock straight up a mountain is true hiking because it\u2019s such hard work. Apparently, switchbacks would add ease and pleasure to the journey and run contrary to the Puritan ethic. Idle feet are the devil\u2019s playthings or something like that.<\/p>\n
Switchbacks in the Western U.S.<\/h2>\n
I feel blessed to have been born west of the Rockies, where trailblazers took a different approach. Many now-popular pathways were first prospectors\u2019 trails constructed with switchbacks for the use of pack animals. This switchbacking tradition continued when trail use changed from business to pleasure. Traditionally, western land has been cheap and there\u2019s been plenty of room to roam, so that a trail builder can afford \u201cthe luxury\u201d of long, meandering switchbacks.<\/p>\n