Any chance on getting some sort of guidance online as to the locations of these shortcuts - namely the old trail turnoff near the beginning?
Bob R's writeup gives pretty good descriptions if you take the time to compare them to the topos of the trail. The exception (only to the history, not to the location) is the description of the trail past the Keeler-Whitney notch. There the "current trail" mentioned on page 3 is the constructed and occasionally maintained trail. In wetter years when there is a snow field on the south side of the plateau that lasts through the summer, people get to the snow and turn uphill either in or along the edge of the snow and cut the constructed switchback. This creates what is referred to as the "old trail". It isn't old, just poorly formed because it has never been laid-out, built or maintained to trail standards. Under the cover of the snow field, the boulder stream that crosses the trail becomes active and destroys the constructed trail. When this has happened , traversing the rocks or snow for about 60 yards keeping to the same rate of climb as the trail behind you will bring you across to the exposed undamaged section of the constructed trail. This year may be the start of another cycle of destruction/reconstruction if the snow field on the south side of the peak is deep enough to last. When maintenance is finally performed, the "new trail" is built to restore the original trail construct. When you stay on the trail it is easy to see from the condition of the rock which sections are fresh work (sharp edges)and which are old trail, both following the more gradual designed line. When you travel the cutoff trail you will find that most of the rocks are large and you travel in the steep gravel between them. The large rocks may be one of the reasons the trail wasn't laid out there. If you cut the switchback try to do it on snow to avoid trampling the occasional sky pilot that struggles to grow there and bloom later in the season.
As to the old trail that starts up from the top of the day use area, if you have trouble finding it, you may have trouble staying on it. This was once the people trail. The currently maintained trail with the giant single switchback was the horse trail used by the pack station back before the current portal store was established.
Dale B. Dalrymple
