Rant: My 'shortcut' on the Lost Coast Trail added 2 hours last month

Tbh, I tried to cut off a big bend near Shelter Cove by following a faint game trail marked on my old map. It turned into a nasty bushwhack through thick poison oak and deadfall that totally wasn't worth it. Anyone know a reliable way to spot which of those old trails on paper maps are actually still passable?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_dylan19d ago

Man that's the worst lol. Honestly I've started to just assume any dotted line on a paper map is a total lie unless I see fresh boot prints. The amount of times I've been led into a bramble patch or a swamp by some old map is crazy. It's like they never update those things.

dianab6818d ago

You're right about those dotted lines, @the_dylan. They often mark where a trail used to be before nature took it back. It makes you wonder if mapmakers just copy old info without ever walking the land themselves. Trusting boots on the ground is the only real way to know.