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Warning: The official mileage for the Lost Coast Trail is way off
Just got back from the Lost Coast in California and I'm still sore. The park service map says the main stretch is 24.3 miles. My GPS watch logged it at 28.1 miles, and that's not counting the extra half mile detours around the tide zones you have to hit. I found this out the hard way on day two, staring at my watch thinking we should have hit camp an hour ago. We were rationing water because we planned our stops based on that 24 mile number. Turns out a lot of the 'unofficial' reroutes around erosion and slide areas add up, but they haven't updated the main posted distance. Has anyone else tracked this route and gotten a totally different number? I'd love to know if my watch was just broken or if this is a known thing.
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jasonmartin1mo ago
My buddy's GPS had us at almost 27 miles last fall. We started adding a flat 10% to any official trail distance after that trip. It saved us on the Enchantments loop, where the posted miles never seem to match the actual climb. Always pack an extra water filter and plan for longer days now.
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