Spent 3 hours navigating a washed out trail in Olympic National Park last weekend

The map showed it as a simple creek crossing but it turned into a whole ordeal finding a safe bypass upstream. Has anyone else dealt with trail maps being wildly outdated in the Olympics?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_paul6d ago

Used to think map updates weren't that big of a deal, but a few years back I hit a similar situation in the North Cascades where a 'simple stream' turned into a full-on river crossing nightmare. GPS said one thing, reality was something else completely. Now I always check trip reports from the last month before I go anywhere, saved my butt a few times. Really makes you wonder how often these maps get updated.

williams.jenny6d ago

Heard a buddy had to turn back entirely after a map showed a trail that didn't even exist anymore.

sam_thomas6d ago

Wait, wasn't that trail marked as seasonal on the newer map layers though? @williams.jenny I get the frustration, but my buddy found out the hard way that GPS basemaps can be years behind what's actually on the ground. You ever check if there was a recent trail report on it before heading out?