Shoutout to the ranger in the Sierra who pointed out my map mistake

I was planning a 4-day loop out of Bishop and kept seeing people online mark the same creek crossing as 'easy', but the ranger showed me on his paper map that the main trail actually swings a full mile north of it. He said that shortcut washes out every spring and people get stuck, which explains the rescue calls he gets around June. Has anyone else found a big difference between the online GPS tracks and the actual maintained trail on the ground?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_lucas8d ago

Feel this so hard. I once followed a perfect-looking line on my phone straight into a willow thicket that hadn't been a trail for like a decade. Spent two hours bushwhacking back to the real path, covered in scratches and regret. GPS tracks can be digital ghosts of some dude's bad day.

casey_barnes8d ago

Digital ghosts are the worst tour guides.