My dad's old hiking buddy told me to 'always follow the creek upstream' on a lost trail

I was planning a 4-day loop in the Gila and he said it with a straight face, like it was gospel. Has anyone actually tried that, or is it a surefire way to end up bushwhacking through a canyon?

3 comments

3 Comments

miaprice6h ago

Hold up, he said that about the Gila? That place is full of box canyons and forks that go nowhere. Following a creek there is a classic way to get yourself into a real mess. Did he at least warn you about checking your map for where that water actually comes from?

scott.alex1h ago

Yeah, but that only works if you know the creek's whole story from a map first... otherwise you're just trusting a random waterway with your afternoon. I've seen guys follow a nice stream right into a cliff wall because they didn't look ahead. It's a tool, not a rule.

blair9905h ago

Honestly, that advice is solid if you use it right. Tbh following a creek upstream is about finding the main water source, which is often a bigger valley or a pass. You can't just blindly follow every trickle, but in a lot of places it leads you out of the thick brush and gives you a clear line. The key is to know when to leave it and check your map. Ngl, it's saved me a couple times when a trail just vanished.