PSA: The trail marker at mile 7 on the Lost Coast is gone and people are getting lost

I just got back from the Lost Coast trail in California last week and saw three separate groups miss the turn near the big rock slide around mile 7. The old wooden post with the orange blaze is completely gone, washed out or taken. Everyone kept walking straight towards the cliffs because the main path looks clear. I had my GPS track from last year and knew to cut inland, but the groups I saw didn't. Has anyone else hiked it recently and know if they've put up a new marker yet?

2 comments

2 Comments

anthony_wells8d ago

Ugh, this is exactly why I don't trust trail markers. It feels like a perfect little life lesson. You get used to something being there to guide you, and then one day it just isn't, and you're totally on your own. Happens with road signs, happens with instructions at work, happens everywhere. Makes you realize how much we all just follow the obvious path without really looking at a map. Hope those groups made it out okay.

grant1308d ago

Yeah, that's why I always take a photo of the trail map at the start. Means you've got a backup in your pocket when the paint on the trees is gone. It saved my butt last fall when a marker was totally washed out.