Shoutout to the old guidebook that saved our trip in the Smokies

I was sure the 'Baxter Creek Trail' to Mount Sterling was a bust after the park map said part was closed (I mean, who trusts a paper guide from 2005, right?). We went anyway with the book's backup route and found a perfect, quiet loop the ranger didn't even mention. It convinced me that sometimes the old info has gems the new stuff misses. Anyone have a favorite outdated guide that still gets it right?

3 comments

3 Comments

simon_carr12d ago

No way, that's awesome. So the ranger didn't even know about that loop? Makes you wonder what else gets lost when they update the official stuff. What was the specific backup route the book told you to take, like the exact trail names?

fiona_carr2611d ago

Exactly, I read an article about how park budgets for trail updates can be tight, so some lesser-used paths fall off the new maps. They focus on the popular routes. Your old guide was printed before those cuts, so it kept that knowledge alive. It's a good case for keeping a couple of those books on the shelf, even if the cover is falling off. My 1998 hiking guide to the Adirondacks still points out a swimming hole that all the newer blogs have missed.

derek_lee11d ago

My grandpa's fishing map from the 70s still shows a creek that got rerouted for a highway.