diff --git a/packages/interop/src/json.spec.ts b/packages/interop/src/json.spec.ts
index 4536faab..90e615ac 100644
--- a/packages/interop/src/json.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/interop/src/json.spec.ts
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ describe('@helia/verified-fetch - json', () => {
       await loadFixtureDataCar(controller, 'QmQJ8fxavY54CUsxMSx9aE9Rdcmvhx8awJK2jzJp4iAqCr-tokens.uniswap.org-2024-01-18.car')
       verifiedFetch = await createVerifiedFetch({
         gateways: [`http://${controller.api.gatewayHost}:${controller.api.gatewayPort}`],
-        routers: [`http://${controller.api.gatewayHost}:${controller.api.gatewayPort}`]
+        routers: []
       })
     })
 
diff --git a/packages/verified-fetch/src/utils/walk-path.ts b/packages/verified-fetch/src/utils/walk-path.ts
index be46fdf2..82db12e9 100644
--- a/packages/verified-fetch/src/utils/walk-path.ts
+++ b/packages/verified-fetch/src/utils/walk-path.ts
@@ -19,9 +19,20 @@ export async function walkPath (blockstore: ReadableStorage, path: string, optio
   const ipfsRoots: CID[] = []
   let terminalElement: UnixFSEntry | undefined
 
-  for await (const entry of exporterWalk(path, blockstore, options)) {
-    ipfsRoots.push(entry.cid)
-    terminalElement = entry
+  try {
+    for await (const entry of exporterWalk(path, blockstore, options)) {
+      ipfsRoots.push(entry.cid)
+      terminalElement = entry
+    }
+  } catch (err: any) {
+    if (err.errors?.length > 0) {
+      for (const error of err.errors) {
+        if (error.code === 'ERR_NO_ROUTERS_AVAILABLE') {
+          throw error
+        }
+      }
+    }
+    throw err
   }
 
   if (terminalElement == null) {
diff --git a/packages/verified-fetch/src/verified-fetch.ts b/packages/verified-fetch/src/verified-fetch.ts
index 1bfccc83..0802b2bd 100644
--- a/packages/verified-fetch/src/verified-fetch.ts
+++ b/packages/verified-fetch/src/verified-fetch.ts
@@ -161,14 +161,19 @@ export class VerifiedFetch {
       return this.helia.blockstore
     }
 
-    let session = this.blockstoreSessions.get(key)
+    try {
+      let session = this.blockstoreSessions.get(key)
 
-    if (session == null) {
-      session = this.helia.blockstore.createSession(root, options)
-      this.blockstoreSessions.set(key, session)
-    }
+      if (session == null) {
+        session = this.helia.blockstore.createSession(root, options)
+        this.blockstoreSessions.set(key, session)
+      }
 
-    return session
+      return session
+    } catch (e) {
+      this.log.error('error creating blockstore session', e)
+      return this.helia.blockstore
+    }
   }
 
   /**
@@ -289,6 +294,11 @@ export class VerifiedFetch {
       if (['ERR_NO_PROP', 'ERR_NO_TERMINAL_ELEMENT'].includes(err.code)) {
         return notFoundResponse(resource)
       }
+      if (err.code === 'ERR_NO_ROUTERS_AVAILABLE') {
+        // need to retry without sessions
+        // TODO: handle this better
+        return this.handleDagCbor({ resource, cid, path, accept, session: false, cacheKey, options })
+      }
 
       this.log.error('error walking path %s', path, err)
       return badGatewayResponse(resource, 'Error walking path')
@@ -357,6 +367,12 @@ export class VerifiedFetch {
       if (['ERR_NO_PROP', 'ERR_NO_TERMINAL_ELEMENT'].includes(err.code)) {
         return notFoundResponse(resource.toString())
       }
+
+      if (err.code === 'ERR_NO_ROUTERS_AVAILABLE') {
+        // need to retry without sessions
+        // TODO: handle this better
+        return this.handleDagPb({ resource, cid, path, cacheKey, session: false, options })
+      }
       this.log.error('error walking path %s', path, err)
 
       return badGatewayResponse(resource.toString(), 'Error walking path')