The time my GPS lied to me near Glacier Peak and I almost fell into a creek

I was hiking the Suiattle River Trail last August and my phone said the next crossing was a quarter mile ahead, but the actual trail had washed out completely after a storm. I spent 45 minutes bushwhacking through devil's club before I found a fallen log that barely held my weight across the raging water. Has anyone else had a route on a downloaded map turn out to be totally useless after a recent flood?

2 comments

2 Comments

claire_fisher411mo ago

Yeah having downloaded maps that were never updated after a washout is basically gambling with your safety.

thomas_roberts1mo ago

Man, that sounds terrifying! I actually listened to a ranger talk near Mount Rainier last summer, and she said that creek crossings in the Glacier Peak area can change completely after just one big storm. She mentioned that a lot of the downloaded map data is years old, so relying on it for river depths or trail locations is risky. I've started checking the USFS website for recent trail reports before I leave, because those rangers know which logs are still there or which bridges are out. It's wild how fast water can just eat away the ground and leave you staring at a totally different landscape than what's on your phone. Really glad you made it across that log, man, that sounds like a nightmare.