That Utah canyon route took me 4 extra days to figure out

I planned a 5 day loop near Escalante and ended up spending 9 total because the route markers were basically gone after that storm in spring. GPS said one thing, the actual terrain said another, and I burned a full afternoon backtracking along the Paria River. Ended up relying on a paper map and a compass I almost left home, which felt stupid since I've done desert routes for years. Has anyone else had a marked route just vanish on them, or was it just my luck?

2 comments

2 Comments

william_harris1mo ago

Tbh it's funny how the same thing happens with city routes when construction signs vanish overnight, just less pretty scenery.

wade8711mo ago

Gotta point out that the Paria River is a ways east of Escalante, so if you were truly backtracking along it, you probably meant the Escalante River or one of its side canyons. Easy mixup, but it changes the whole route if you're reading a map wrong. Still, yeah, I've had markers disappear on me in the Maze District, and a paper map saved my butt too.