diff --git a/OpenTelemetryPlan/09-data-collection-reference.md b/OpenTelemetryPlan/09-data-collection-reference.md
index 8bbb9597b6..c3eecf3af2 100644
--- a/OpenTelemetryPlan/09-data-collection-reference.md
+++ b/OpenTelemetryPlan/09-data-collection-reference.md
@@ -233,11 +233,18 @@ Controlled by `trace_rpc=1` in `[telemetry]` config.
 
 | Span Name             | Parent             | Source File     | Description                                                |
 | --------------------- | ------------------ | --------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
-| `pathfind.request`    | `rpc.command.*`    | PathRequest.cpp | `path_find` / `ripple_path_find` RPC entry                 |
+| `pathfind.request`    | `rpc.process`      | PathFind.cpp    | `path_find` RPC entry (`doPathFind`)                       |
 | `pathfind.compute`    | `pathfind.request` | PathRequest.cpp | Path computation for one request (`PathRequest::doUpdate`) |
 | `pathfind.discover`   | `pathfind.compute` | Pathfinder.cpp  | Graph exploration (one per RPC call)                       |
 | `pathfind.update_all` | —                  | PathRequest.cpp | Async recomputation of all active requests at ledger close |
 
+> **Note**: `pathfind.request` parents to `rpc.process`, not `rpc.command.*`.
+> `rpc.command.*` is intentionally unscoped: its generic dispatch (`callMethod`)
+> also wraps `doRipplePathFind`, whose span is held across a coroutine
+> `yield()` — scoping it would risk a wrong-thread scope pop on resume. The
+> `pathfind.request → compute → discover` sub-tree nests correctly because those
+> handlers run synchronously (no yield) and use `ScopedSpanGuard`.
+
 **Where to find**: Tempo → TraceQL: `{resource.service.name="xrpld" && name=~"pathfind.*"}`
 
 ---
diff --git a/src/xrpld/app/ledger/detail/BuildLedger.cpp b/src/xrpld/app/ledger/detail/BuildLedger.cpp
index d0e8967c09..482721bf6a 100644
--- a/src/xrpld/app/ledger/detail/BuildLedger.cpp
+++ b/src/xrpld/app/ledger/detail/BuildLedger.cpp
@@ -50,7 +50,9 @@ buildLedgerImpl(
     ApplyTxs&& applyTxs)
 {
     using namespace telemetry;
-    auto buildSpan = SpanGuard::span(TraceCategory::Ledger, seg::ledger, ledger_span::op::build);
+    // Scoped so tx.apply (created synchronously below during applyTxs on this
+    // thread) nests under it. buildLedgerImpl runs synchronously with no yield.
+    auto buildSpan = ScopedSpanGuard(TraceCategory::Ledger, seg::ledger, ledger_span::op::build);
 
     auto built = std::make_shared<Ledger>(*parent, closeTime);
 
diff --git a/src/xrpld/rpc/detail/PathRequest.cpp b/src/xrpld/rpc/detail/PathRequest.cpp
index 4fb11ab10c..28a6ad3c5c 100644
--- a/src/xrpld/rpc/detail/PathRequest.cpp
+++ b/src/xrpld/rpc/detail/PathRequest.cpp
@@ -739,7 +739,9 @@ PathRequest::doUpdate(
 {
     using namespace std::chrono;
     using namespace telemetry;
-    auto span = SpanGuard::span(
+    // Scoped so pathfind.discover (created synchronously below via findPaths)
+    // nests under it. doUpdate does not yield, so scoping is safe.
+    auto span = ScopedSpanGuard(
         TraceCategory::Rpc, pathfind_span::prefix::pathfind, pathfind_span::op::compute);
     span.setAttribute(pathfind_span::attr::fast, fast);
     span.setAttribute(pathfind_span::attr::destCurrency, to_string(saDstAmount_.asset()).c_str());
diff --git a/src/xrpld/rpc/handlers/orderbook/PathFind.cpp b/src/xrpld/rpc/handlers/orderbook/PathFind.cpp
index f04756be15..bf7fdfe264 100644
--- a/src/xrpld/rpc/handlers/orderbook/PathFind.cpp
+++ b/src/xrpld/rpc/handlers/orderbook/PathFind.cpp
@@ -19,7 +19,9 @@ json::Value
 doPathFind(RPC::JsonContext& context)
 {
     using namespace telemetry;
-    auto span = SpanGuard::span(
+    // Scoped so pathfind.compute/discover (created synchronously below on this
+    // thread) nest under it. doPathFind does not yield, so scoping is safe.
+    auto span = ScopedSpanGuard(
         TraceCategory::Rpc, pathfind_span::prefix::pathfind, pathfind_span::op::request);
     // Addresses are hashed before emission for privacy.
     if (auto const& src = context.params[jss::source_account]; src.isString())