Yosemite National Park trail signs are classic Sierrana: thick steel plate hand cut by torch, rusted steadiness, upright after countless winter snows. The trail mileage on some signs is obviously incorrect. In general, how do the trail distances correspond to map distances.
To make the comparison, I recorded the trail distances at each junction on a route from Crescent Lake to Glacier Point trail head. A total of 7 junctions were passed, each with three sign posts [the junction numbers in the tabulation below are numbered along the route as passed] Map distances were computed in TOPO based on USGS 7.5-minute quadrangles at 4x magnification. Distances to place names that involved more than one route were omitted.
Overall the results show that trail signs and map distances correspond very well. Of the 46 pair wise comparisons possible, the majority of instances have the trail sign distances slightly longer than the map distances, but only by a minor fraction: 5.5% longer distance. Some distances were inconsistent by as much as 20%
DESTINATION | SIGN | TOPO | diff. | |
Junction 1 | Johnson Lake | 4.5 | 4.15 | 0.35 |
Royan Arch Lake | 5.7 | 5.65 | 0.05 | |
Buck Camp | 6.4 | 6.48 | -0.08 | |
Chiquita Pass | 11.2 | 11.10 | 0.10 | |
Wawona | 8.2 | 7.82 | 0.38 | |
Deer Camp | 4.7 | 4.52 | 0.18 | |
Bridalveil Camp | 7.6 | 7.49 | 0.11 | |
Buena Vista Lake | 6.2 | 5.93 | 0.27 | |
TOTALS | 54.5 | 53.14 | 1.36 | |
Junction 2 | Buck Camp | 7.1 | 7.99 | -0.89 |
Wawona | 8.6 | 7.97 | 0.63 | |
Chiquita Pass | 11.8 | 12.40 | -0.60 | |
Buena Vista Lake | 5.4 | 5.35 | 0.05 | |
Deer Camp | 4 | 3.11 | 0.89 | |
Bridalveil Camp | 6.7 | 5.93 | 0.77 | |
TOTALS | 43.6 | 42.75 | 0.85 | |
Junction 3 | Wawona | 8.5 | 7.97 | 0.53 |
Buena Vista Lake | 6.4 | 6.20 | 0.20 | |
Buck Camp | 7.9 | 8.05 | -0.15 | |
Chiquita Pass | 12.7 | 12.57 | 0.13 | |
Deer Camp | 3.2 | 3.11 | 0.09 | |
Bridalveil Camp | 6 | 5.93 | 0.07 | |
TOTALS | 44.7 | 43.83 | 0.87 | |
Junction 4 | Buena Vista Lake | 7.7 | 7.50 | 0.20 |
Wawona | 9.8 | 9.27 | 0.53 | |
Buck Camp | 9.2 | 9.31 | -0.11 | |
Chiquita Pass | 14 | 13.83 | 0.17 | |
Deer Camp | 1.9 | 1.81 | 0.09 | |
Ostrander Lake | 6.4 | 7.01 | -0.61 | |
Bridalveil Camp | 4.7 | 4.62 | 0.08 | |
TOTALS | 53.7 | 53.35 | 0.35 | |
Junction 5 | Deer Camp | 4.3 | 4.32 | -0.02 |
Wawona | 12.3 | 11.78 | 0.52 | |
Buck Camp | 10.5 | 11.82 | -1.32 | |
Chiquita Pass | 16.6 | 16.34 | 0.26 | |
Ostrander Lake | 3.9 | 4.05 | -0.15 | |
Bridalveil Camp | 2.2 | 2.11 | 0.09 | |
TOTALS | 49.8 | 50.42 | -0.62 | |
Junction 6 | Deer Camp | 5.7 | 4.88 | 0.82 |
Buck Camp | 11.8 | 12.34 | -0.54 | |
Wawona | 13.7 | 12.34 | 1.36 | |
Ostrander Lake | 5.3 | 4.78 | 0.52 | |
Bridalveil Camp | 1.4 | 1.55 | -0.15 | |
TOTALS | 37.9 | 35.89 | 2.01 | |
Junction 7 | Ostrander Lake | 4.5 | 4.46 | 0.04 |
Deer Camp | 4.9 | 5.2 | -0.30 | |
Wawona | 12.9 | 12.66 | 0.24 | |
Buck Camp | 12.4 | 12.7 | -0.30 | |
Chiquita Pass | 17.1 | 17.02 | 0.08 | |
Glacier Point Road | 1.7 | 1.42 | 0.28 | |
Bridalveil Camp | 1.6 | 1.87 | -0.27 | |
TOTALS | 55.1 | 55.33 | -0.23 |
