My map got soaked on the second day of the Lost Coast Trail

I was about 15 miles in, near Punta Gorda, when a wave came up higher than I expected and soaked my pack. My paper map was in an outside pocket and turned into a blurry mess. I had my phone, but the battery was low and I knew I needed to save it. I remembered the trail mostly followed the beach, but the tide charts and the exact spots to go inland were on that map. I took a deep breath, let the map dry in the sun for an hour, and used a pencil to trace over the faded lines I could still kinda see. I paired that with asking a couple of other hikers I passed to confirm the next high tide window. Has anyone else had to improvise a backup for a key piece of gear like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

kevin_sullivan3d ago

Boil every single sip" sounds like my kind of planning, honestly.

troy5643d ago

Man, that's the worst feeling, watching your map just dissolve. I once had my only water filter crack on the first day of a three day loop. Had to boil every single sip for two days, which meant way less water and so much time just sitting by the fire. That sun-drying trick is smart though, I did something similar when my notebook got soaked. You just make it work with what you've got left.