While hiking in the Great Gulf Wilderness in NH this past weekend we encountered a somewhat upset SOBO thru hiker who had just rejoined the trail after an unplanned one hour detour up the Great Gulf trail. He was bit upset and was muttering that the AMC was too cheap to put up white blazes. He calmed down a bit when we explained the Federally Designated Wilderness Rules that precluded any substantial blazing and allowed only minimal signage.
I realized that for SOBO folks, this is the first Wilderness area they encounter on their way south and expect that just following the white blazes is pretty well routine after a month or so on the trail. The area he had gotten confused is easy place to get off track as even the minimal signage is confusing. The AT goes over a slight rise and follows a well established route up the gulf past a signed intersection where the AT diverges steeply downhill and about 160 degrees from the direction of travel. I expect the hiker may have missed the signage and just went along the path of least resistance. There are no AT logos on the signs but the there are usually (but not always) spelled out APPALACHIAN TRAIL with an arrow in the right direction. The AT rapidly crosses a suspension bridge and then ends up at another trail junction for Madison Gulf Trail, it is signed DIRECT ROUTE TO MADISON HUT and does not have Appalachian trail with an arrow but does have Osgood trail with an arrow. (Madison Gulf trail skips a section of the AT, is not blazed and is not recommended for hikers with backpacks). The trail then has to cross another significant stream without a bridge before coming to another intersection where the AT is not the obvious route. This is all blazes free and I expect for most folks a map is essential.
He calmed down a bit and we asked him his planned end point (it was around 9:30 AM). He was hoping for Mitzpah Spring Hut but would settle for Lake of the Crowds (still a bit of a hike). I mentioned the Jewell Trail site as an option and then wished him well on his hike.