Every hiker has been there – Bad Decision Country. The trail looks short on the map, or the peak looks close enough, or you just plain make a dumb mistake. The lucky ones live to tell about it. The unlucky ones end up on Hiker Hell. I, myself, have had my share of bad decisions – one of them ended up in me falling into a river, electronics and all. Another one had me climbing a mountain off-trail at sunset without a map or light (THAT was a really dumb move), but I’ve come out of those situations wiser (and lightly scarred).

Modern Hiker readers Rebecca and Shawnté luckily fall into that first category of hikers, and have lived to tell the tale of their journey on the Tom Sloane Trail – even when signs warning them of recent, dangerous rockslides told them not to continue.

The duo first posted the story in the Modern Hiker Forums, and were then so inspired to tell all the dirty details that they started a new blog, What Would Ed Do? And I’m glad they did.

Their story – which includes crossing two very dangerous rockslides, swinging from tree branches, and dealing with the “stabby little asshole plants” we know as Spanish Bayonets – is a fantastic and highly entertaining read.

While I hope these two continue to hike with more ease in the future, I hope they keep writing up trail stories as fun as this one.

Also, I think I may be willing to start a petition to get bayonets renamed “Stabby Little Asshole Plants.” It’s a much more accurate name for those things.

Tags: Hiking, rockslide, safety, what not to do, what would ed do?