Discussion: the trail fork that everyone didn't see on long leg

Bob Boltz (NEOOC) had a 51 minute time on that leg, doing exactly what you described. I was a bit luckier: while I also followed the wrong trail, I was looking for the woods vegetation separating the two semi-open areas (lined with vertical purple lines) and left the trail going SE thinking I was on the semi-open clearing just N of my destination control. That is when I saw the pond and realized that I was totally off what I assumed I was. Funny, I didn't feel too "right" about what I was seeing around, until when I saw the pond.

A lot of people made that mistake. You might argue that the mapping was a little deceptive, but that doesn't excuse a 30-minute error. A compass check would have promptly revealed the problem, but I had blinders on.