What an adventure! What a challenge!!
Four wonderful women set out for a nice hike on the Rainbow Trail in glorious sunshine, and it was just that until we started down the loop home after our snack at the furthest lookout point. One hiker actually had the original, full loop saved on Gaia; sadly, her phone died! ... and the trail markers seemed to disappear early on the way down. I figured if we continued downhill towards the lake we'd find the trail ...and we did! The snow shovel we found confirmed we were on track (ask me about THAT story) - it was right at the foot of a tree with a white trail marker on it! BUT it was only visible from the downhill side. The markers appeared sporadically, interspersed with some very faded flagging tape, as we made our way down, usually found as someone turned back to check on the others, so that became our habit.
Unfortunately, these trail markers were leading us astray! Eventually, thanks to my companions frequently checking their phone map and convincing me we were heading away from where we really wanted to go, we decided to backtrack. Somewhere along our discovered route, we missed a significant marker - hidden by overgrowth perhaps? or hidden on a fallen tree under some branches (actually happened)?
At a decision point, three options presented themselves :
A - head all the way back up the mountain, possibly to the lookout point and to the trail we came up, hoping to find the missed marker
B - continue along the trail with the white markers making for a longer way around to our end point
C - bushwhack our way along a known compass direction guaranteed to intersect with a known path near our end point
Unanimous decision: option C!
With a few adjustments to go around unsuitable terrain, and a great sense of satisfaction, we made it! We hit the original return trail!
Lessons learned?
- always bring a compass with you when hiking in 'back country' and know the basics of using it (or someone that does)
- have a fully charged phone and bring a portable power bank if you will be using your phone for navigation
- extra snacks are never a waste of space or weight
I also strongly recommend that if you are using a map to follow a trail, get familiar with all the information it is making available to you - it can help you solve unexpected problems that can arise.
This adventure was do-able only with the willingness to participate in a challenge and the steadfastly positive attitudes of the ladies that joined me for this hike. I have deep gratitude for their trust in my navigation skills.
Despite the long way around, each hiker felt it was a good day! ... and I didn't really ask for details about why ...
What an adventure!
