Pro tip: My GPS track showed I walked 17 miles in one day on the Lost Coast Trail, not the 12 my map said.

That extra distance from constant beach rock scrambling and route-finding for the tides wrecked my feet and pushed my water supply to the limit, so has anyone else had a planned route's mileage be completely wrong because of terrain?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_riley16d agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, and that's why I always add a solid buffer to whatever the map says, especially on coastal stuff. @jake_owens makes a good point about the source, but even a good paper map can't really show you how much weaving you'll actually do to find solid footing. All those micro-adjustments for slippery rocks or washed-out sections just pile on the hidden miles. It's never a straight line unless you're walking on a road.

jake_owens24d ago

That's a brutal difference. Makes you wonder how many guidebooks just measure the straight line. Did you have a paper map or just a digital track?

mark_rivera24d ago

Straight line" measurements are the real problem. They ignore all the little turns and switchbacks that add up on a real trail. That's why even digital tracks can be way off if they don't count every zigzag.