Talked to a ranger in the Tetons about my planned 5-day loop

She pointed out a section I'd marked as 'easy' that washed out last spring, said 'Your map is a year behind the trail.' Anyone have a good source for recent route conditions?

3 comments

3 Comments

black.amy1mo ago

Last summer I followed a Gaia note that said a creek crossing was fine, but it had washed out completely overnight from a storm the map didn't show. You can't trust random people on the internet to know what they're talking about or update things fast enough. I'd rather call the ranger station the morning of my trip for the latest info, even if the map is old. Those crowd-sourced notes give a false sense of security.

craig.drew2mo ago

Ever check if your map app has a 'community updates' layer? I know Gaia GPS lets users drop pins with notes and photos on washed out spots, which can be way more current than the base map. That ranger tip is a perfect example of why those crowd-sourced notes are gold. I've seen warnings about new deadfall or bear activity pop up there weeks before any official source gets updated.

mark6762mo ago

Yeah, that community layer on Gaia saved me last fall. I had a trail marked clear that was totally blocked by new deadfall, but a user note from two days prior gave me a heads up to reroute. Those real-time updates are the only thing I trust now.