Darn birds and lizards ate up all the granola crumbs she left to mark the trail. That said, I can see it'd be easy to lose a trail- trails seldom look familiar on the way back unless you are very attentive in noting unusual natural features, creating unusual features with stacked rocks, or in leaving broken branches. You may see side rails from one direction you did not notice going the other direction, or the trail may not even be visible on open dry ground, and the light is different and deceiving.
I guess spray painting a big X on the ground, rocks or shrubbery every 20 feet or so is not a good idea. Is there a good way to mark a trail in tHe desert?
I did a casual search and found several maps which say it’s marked and point out interesting sights at X miles along the trail and which way to turn. It is run by the Parks Service so, of course it’s marked.