Hot take: Most people marking water sources on trails are wrong

I hiked the Ozark Highlands Trail last spring and found 3 creeks labeled as “reliable” that were bone dry in May. I carry an extra 2 liters now because I stopped trusting the crowd-sourced maps after that trip. Has anyone else run into sketchy water markers out there?

2 comments

2 Comments

sanchez.mary1mo ago

I used to trust those markers completely until I got stranded near a dry creek in Arkansas.

tessa3681mo ago

Oh man, that's rough. Nothing like losing faith in something you thought was solid to really shake you up.