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Hiked the PCT and AT last year and the difference in trail marking is insane
The Appalachian Trail's white blazes made it so easy I barely checked my map, but out on the PCT in Washington I spent half a day off route because of a missing cairn and a faded marker, so why don't the western trails just adopt the same system?
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parkerk562mo ago
Man, I got lost for almost four hours on the PCT in Oregon because of a single missing cairn. It’s wild how different the systems are.
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ward.fiona2mo ago
Four hours is brutal. I get that frustration completely. One missing cairn and suddenly you're bushwhacking through manzanita for way longer than you planned. The PCT is usually blazed pretty well but Oregon has those stretches where if a single cairn gets knocked over you're done. I've had similar moments on the JMT where I missed one duck and ended up a mile off trail. It makes you wonder why they can't just standardize the markers or at least put in more blazes in spots where cairns are the only guide. Glad you made it out okay though.
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