A guy at the trailhead told me my map was wrong and he was right

I was about to start the Highline Trail in Glacier, feeling good with my printed map from a popular hiking site. A guy gearing up next to me asked which way I was going. When I showed him, he pointed and said, 'That creek crossing is marked wrong. It's a quarter mile north of where your map shows it. I got soaked there last year.' I almost brushed him off, but I changed my plan and found the real crossing spot just where he said. It saved me from a cold mistake and a lot of bushwhacking. Now I always cross-check my main route map with at least one other source, like a ranger station update or a recent trail report, before I head out. It feels like a small step but it makes a big difference. Has anyone else had a map steer them wrong on a big hike?

2 comments

2 Comments

evan_carr10d ago

Funny how that works... trusting the wrong map. It happens with more than just trails though. You see it all the time with people following old instructions or some blog post that's out of date. The real info is usually from someone who was just there, boots on the ground. Makes you wonder what else we're all reading that's just a little bit off.

angelapalmer10d ago

How much news is just like that old map? We read reports from people who weren't there, repeating what they heard. It's all second hand info by the time it gets to you.