Tried a new way to mark a turn on the Lost Coast Trail and it backfired

I was hiking the northern section near Mattole Beach last month and used bright orange flagging tape to mark a tricky turn off the main path. Came back the next day to find a whole line of hikers had followed my tape onto a game trail instead of the actual route. Learned that even temporary markers can really mess with people's navigation in popular spots. Has anyone found a better way to note a tricky spot without causing confusion?

3 comments

3 Comments

holly_young352mo ago

Ugh, I totally get why you feel that way, but I've had the opposite happen. Last year on a local trail, someone left a small pile of stones for a turn and it saved my group from a nasty wrong turn in the fog. I feel like if you use something super temporary, like brushing an arrow in the dirt or a couple of sticks in an X right at the spot, it's less likely to lead people miles off course. The tape can blow around or get seen from too far away.

olivias882mo ago

Exactly, those temporary marks are way better than tape that can mislead from a distance.

johnson.adam28d ago

Four years ago on the Tahoe Rim Trail I saw someone's rock cairn get kicked over by a deer and suddenly everyone was lost. That's why I like what you said about brushing arrows in the dirt, @olivias88, because it's so temporary that it won't mess with anyone the next day. I started doing something similar on the PCT where I'll pile a few sticks in a V shape right at the junction and then scatter them when I come back through. The key for me is keeping it small and only placing it within ten feet of the actual turn instead of far away like the flagging tape. That way people have to be right on top of it to see it, so they can't follow it for miles down a wrong trail. I think if more people used stuff that washes away or blows apart, we'd have way less confusion out there.