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

Henry Stone · 2026-03-15T07:45:10.577511+00:00

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?

kevin_sullivan7mo ago

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

6

rosejackson5mo ago

My buddy used a strip of duct tape as a makeshift map when his fell apart in the rain.

3

troy5647mo 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.

1