Hi and who

[TheSkeptic]

Hello there, not new to hiking but new to hiking again. This site is a great resource and I've used it a lot but had a question about how the difficulty ratings are assigned? Last Tuesday I attempted the Silver Star mountain via Grouse Vista, rated as moderate and today, I hiked the Gillette Lake route also rated as moderate, yet the two couldn't be more different, imo.

The Grouse Vista route is pretty steep from the get go, and stays that way for at least 20 minutes with lots of loose rocks and gravel. After about 75 minutes, and just past the point where the route around Pyramid rock re-joins, I knew I shouldn't continue based on how I was feeling. I probably overestimated my fitness somewhat but today, I completed the Gillette Lake hike without much difficulty, yet it's a moderate hike too.

Maybe conditions have changed since the Silver Star hike was categorized, but it seems like that hike should be evaluated again for it's difficulty level. Thanks.

[retired jerry]

welcome

I don't think difficulty is really formalized. I'm not surprised there is inconsistency between different hikes. Still probably some value to it though.

[TheSkeptic]

I suppose if I was in good enough shape, it wouldn't matter.

[squidvicious]

The Gillette Lake hike is actually listed as easy, so that explains that one.

I would swear at some point I did see something that explained how the hikes were categorized. Another site, maybe. In general you probably just want to use those ratings as a rough first filter. The distance and elevation gain numbers on the individual hikes give you a better basis for comparison, and let you make a personal evaluation on which of those is more of an issue for you.

It's also nice if you can find a track for the hike on gpsfly.org etc, where you can see a graph of the elevation profile. That really gives you a good idea what you're in for.

[Chip Down]

The distance and elevation gain numbers on the individual hikes give you a better basis for comparison, and let you make a personal evaluation on which of those is more of an issue for you.

Exactly. I suppose I'm in the minority, but I think difficulty ratings should indicate only those factors other than distance and elevation, such as the trail surface, routefinding challenges, extremely steep stretches, crumbly sketchy spots, creek crossings, etc.

Anyway, welcome skeptical one. Sorry you didn't make it to SS. That trail is a PITA, so I know it must have been discouraging to turn back without ever seeing the good stuff. Looks like you have something to train for. Or maybe just start super early and make a day of it. It's amazing what you can do if you start out by headlamp and pace yourself, slow and steady. Maybe pick up a set of treking poles too. You know, let your arms do some of the work. [edit: I see you turned back after a fairly short time, and you really weren't that far away. I bet you can do this. Just be patient, eat and drink well, take it easy. Sorry if I sound patronizing; I'm just trying to be realistically encouraging.]

[TheSkeptic]

The distance and elevation gain numbers on the individual hikes give you a better basis for comparison, and let you make a personal evaluation on which of those is more of an issue for you.

Exactly. I suppose I'm in the minority, but I think difficulty ratings should indicate only those factors other than distance and elevation, such as the trail surface, routefinding challenges, extremely steep stretches, crumbly sketchy spots, creek crossings, etc.

Anyway, welcome skeptical one. Sorry you didn't make it to SS. That trail is a PITA, so I know it must have been discouraging to turn back without ever seeing the good stuff. Looks like you have something to train for. Or maybe just start super early and make a day of it. It's amazing what you can do if you start out by headlamp and pace yourself, slow and steady. Maybe pick up a set of treking poles too. You know, let your arms do some of the work. [edit: I see you turned back after a fairly short time, and you really weren't that far away. I bet you can do this. Just be patient, eat and drink well, take it easy. Sorry if I sound patronizing; I'm just trying to be realistically encouraging.]

Not at all, I'll take any advice I can get. I've been to the top but it was several years ago and from a different direction that included Ed's Trail. I've been thinking about some trekking poles so I'll definitely look into those. Thanks.

[texasbb]

I agree wholeheartedly on separating what the trail is like from distance and vertical gain. That's one of my two pet peeves with (I think) every field guide I've ever seen. The other one is labeling the distance. It should ALWAYS, be clarified for EVERY hike whether the distance is round-trip or one-way or loop or end-to-end or whatever. Don't make me flip pages to figure out the convention or figure out whether a trail is connector or not. Say it every time, right in the header of the trail description, right after the number. E.g.: "4.5-mile out-n-back," "8-mile connector," "6 miles one-way to lake." How can it be that hard?

P.S. Welcome, TS!

[retired jerry]

The field guide does list distance in miles and elevation gain in feet

The field guide is a wikipedia type. By volunteers. The advantage is you get a diversity of information. The disadvantage is there is less consistency than if it was a guide by a single author.

[jeffstatt]

Hi TheSkeptic,
Sorry you had that experience. You make a great point! Hmmm thinking back, I may have been the one to mark the Grouse Vista to SS trail as "moderate". And thinking about Gillette Lake, hmmm...I think I'd call that moderate too. Admittedly "moderate" is kinda of a catch-all. Maybe we need more categories because you make a really good point when comparing these two! On one hand I'd hate to call GVSS "difficult" because I'd hate to scare off people off from a hike that's nowheres near as difficult a it's compared to things like Starvation Ridge, but I'd also think it'd be a bit of a stretch to call Gillette Lake "Easy"

[TheSkeptic]

Hi TheSkeptic,
Sorry you had that experience. You make a great point! Hmmm thinking back, I may have been the one to mark the Grouse Vista to SS trail as "moderate". And thinking about Gillette Lake, hmmm...I think I'd call that moderate too. Admittedly "moderate" is kinda of a catch-all. Maybe we need more categories because you make a really good point when comparing these two! On one hand I'd hate to call GVSS "difficult" because I'd hate to scare off people off from a hike that's nowheres near as difficult a it's compared to things like Starvation Ridge, but I'd also think it'd be a bit of a stretch to call Gillette Lake "Easy"

One of the guidebooks I frequent uses Easy through Strenuous and it rates Gillette Lake as moderate and Grouse Vista to SS as Difficult (Starvation Ridge is Strenuous). As someone pointed out, watching the elevation gain over the mileage is something I'll pay more attention to.

Also, I wouldn't say it was a "bad" experience so much as it was a little disappointing and a lot tiring (but that's what a good hike is kind of about, right?).