Overheard a ranger in Yosemite say 'the map is not the trail'

I was waiting for a permit at the Tuolumne Meadows station last month and this older ranger was talking to a group about the High Sierra Camp loop. He said something that stuck with me: 'The map is not the trail. The trail is the dirt under your boots, and it changes every season.' He meant that the official line on the paper or screen is just a guide, and you have to actually look at the ground, especially after snowmelt or rock slides. I did the loop a week later and sure enough, a section near Vogelsang was totally washed out and rerouted with cairns, nothing like my printed map. I would have wasted an hour looking for the old path if I hadn't remembered what he said. It made me realize I rely too much on the planned route and not enough on what's actually in front of me. Has anyone else had a trip where the real route was completely different from what you planned?

2 comments

2 Comments

jessew8315d ago

Ever try to follow an old trail map in the Smokies after a storm? I spent half a morning looking for a bridge that was just gone, washed downstream. I finally stopped staring at my phone and just looked for where people were obviously walking. The worn path was like fifty feet away from where the map said it should be. That's when I learned to trust the ground more than the guide.

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derek86815d ago

My buddy @jessew83 told me a ranger once said trails in the Smokies move about 20 feet a year from erosion and hikers taking shortcuts.