Things to bring/plan when exploring an unmarked "trail"

What will the weather be like?

GPS, water - probably don't need anything else, maybe a good memory to find your way back. You can make cairns at turns or whenever you need to mark your way.

post it notes. At turns and other easily missed things put them on a tree or something to mark that there was a turn, you waont get lost that way

cool kid wrote:

post it notes. At turns and other easily missed things put them on a tree or something to mark that there was a turn, you waont get lost that way

That's a great idea, thank you. I'll bring a sharpie too in case I need to draw arrows.

If you don't feel like carrying post it notes, you can also move small rocks and twigs to make an arrow showing the direction you went/came from.

If you are going to take anything with you, the most important thing is probably a cellphone (preferably with GPS)

Compass

Tent

Water purifier

Space blanket

Will

Food

Of course you should take the freshmen if there is a chance of getting lost.

A big ball of string.

Bigfoot detector.

Oh, and a decent camera, you gotta get proof that you saw one.

Other than that take a map with you.

Breadcrumbs

And your wits. Something as simple as thinking to push someone into an oven at just the right time can be the difference between life and death.

Ok, then I will bring a freshman, but will make sure he has a cellphone.

this sounds really cool. In my experience, most unmarked trails end in just a mile or 2 or become too washed out to continue at a running pace. Often they were old logging roads or farm roads. Report back.

Pepper spray in case you meet unfriendly locals.

An alternative to paper post it note is colored plastic trail marking tape. you can usually get it at Home Depot, etc. It's more visible, you can tie it to/loop it over a branch, etc. to mark a trail.

Do bring your phone and if you're someplace cool/cold, bring at least an extra layer & warm hat in case you turn an ankle, etc.

trailguide wrote:

An alternative to paper post it note is colored plastic trail marking tape. you can usually get it at Home Depot, etc. It's more visible, you can tie it to/loop it over a branch, etc. to mark a trail.

Do bring your phone and if you're someplace cool/cold, bring at least an extra layer & warm hat in case you turn an ankle, etc.

if there is a chance of getting lost, colored marking tape and drawing arrows on the ground with sticks/rocks is the way to go

edward teach wrote:

this sounds really cool. In my experience, most unmarked trails end in just a mile or 2 or become too washed out to continue at a running pace. Often they were old logging roads or farm roads. Report back.

I've scouted some with satellite pictures, and I know one place I'll have to cross the creek, but it looks like I'll be able to follow along at least 5 miles. I'm exploring it saturday, so I'll report back then.

bringing a small backpack with water,

compass,

pants or tights i can run in in case of any brush,

a regular watch/not using gps on this run, would rather not think about the distance initially

trail marking tape, making arrows with rocks takes too long and his hard to see, I want to run most of the way nonstop

two teammates, no freshmen this time round

oh, and a camera

A sense of direction