Perks and perils on the trail.

My unofficial maximum hiking distance is two miles. (Or four miles round trip.) But that’s not because of the difficulty involved. Rather, it’s all the time I have. At the human walking pace of about 20 (I’d estimate 30 on uneven terrain) minutes per mile, that translates to about two hours of hiking round trip on mountainous terrain.

So whenever I learn of a shortcut, in particular the shortcut to Gobbler’s Knob in Otisville, NY featured in this video, I feel beckoned and compelled to do it.

And, let’s be honest, wouldn’t you take the shortcut, too, if you knew about it? You will get there in no time with less to little effort.

There may, however, be caveats. If there’s elevation gain, then that elevation gain is compressed into a short distance resulting in a steep and possibly treacherous incline when going up the side of a mountain. And, as with any shortcut, there may be reasons people don’t take it. Bears, for one, may nest there.

Without giving away spoilers in case you want to watch the video (I hope you do), let me just state what is likely a truism when it comes to shortcuts. (At least according to my elementary school teacher when I was in Grade 3.) In our relentless quest for the quickest way to get where we’re going, a shortcut may have its perks, but, we must not forget, it may have its perils, too.