Water crossing on the John Muir Trail took me 2 extra days to figure out

Everyone says to just follow the GPS and trust the trail markers, but I hit a section near the San Joaquin River where the route genuinely disappeared after a storm. The cairns were scattered like someone dropped them, and my map showed a crossing that was basically a waterfall. It took me 14 hours over two days to walk upstream, find a safe spot, and get across, which turned my whole schedule upside down. Has anyone else had a marked route just vanish like that, or did I somehow miss an obvious alternate path?

1 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

1 Comment

butler.abby3mo ago

Trust the trail markers" they said, clearly never met a waterfall masquerading as a river crossing.

2