Getting lost with a map

This is about getting lost even with a map and a compass.   As it turns out GPS'es can be wrong, and so can maps.   This is usually due to some element of human error in getting geographic details incorrect.   I suppose in this case, it was an amusing discovery and one where I was somewhat embarrassed, but at the same time, came away learning something new.    

I know that trails change over time as forest service workers will reroute trails to avoid erosion.   Also, features will change with time, but in this particular case, I think someone just plain got it wrong.   

I went on a bushwhacking trip with my friends Brad, Dan, and Tim.   The idea was to bushwhack part way up a mountain in the Sandwich Range in New Hampshire called Flat Mountain and then find our way over to a nearby pond.   Being the "navigation expert" in the group, I was supposed to select the route.   

The map I used is below.   The arrow points to a creek.   My idea was to follow the creek up to the little saddle and then take the ridge up to a place where it flattens out.   Easy, huh?

We followed the creek, but at a certain point Brad, who knows the area, said that we weren't near the saddle but off to the east of it.   He seemed dead sure.   I was thinking that we were right at the saddle, interpreting various features associated with it.   

Then, we  went over a little bump and actually went downhill, which was completely unexpected.  Some distance past the local minimum, Brad pointed out a mountain in the distance, and I good a compass bearing to the mountain.   With a little work, I figured out that, yeah, Brad was right, and *then* I saw the little bump on the map and figured out that we were indeed to the east of where I thought we were.    

The rest of the trip went off normally as we got back on track, but I didn't understand why the stream we followed wasn't on the map. 

Above - the map I used

The next day, Dan showed me his guidebook to the mountains of New Hampshire.   In it was a large scale map of the interesting regions for hiking.   When I looked that map - lo and behold, it had a correct representation of the creek - at least the one we went up.     The day after that, I went to work on my lecture notes where I used a large scale map of the same area for my class and lo and behold, it also had the stream in the correct orientation.   

Map I used in lecture, showing the stream in the proper orientation. 

Now this was not a big deal, but the stream in the map I used was most assuredly not properly portrayed, while it was shown properly on the larger scale maps.    Just one more thing to keep in the back of your mind while navigating.