[at-l] Trail Maintenance: Blazing

[rafeb@adelphia.net (rafeb@adelphia.net)]

On 7 Mar 2002 at 19:35, Slyatpct@aol.com wrote:

> There was a section in Maine, shortly before the Crockers if I recall 
> correctly, that had to be the worst with abundant blazes.  Not only could you 
> see four, five or more in a row they were painted on each side of a tree, 
> instead of alternating north and south, and on each side of the large 
> boulders in the middle of the trail.  The trail was obvious and there were no 
> side trails to throw one off.


And how many stretches are there where there are NO blazes 
to be seen, for what seems like tens of minutes at a time.  
Many's the time I doubted my way because of the lack of 
blazes, even backtracking to the last-seen blaze, for 
reassurance.  Yes, I was still on the trail, but there'd be 
no way of knowing that from the blazes.

And lets' not forget the tricky "turn here" blaze, painted on 
a rock, flush with the ground, on a minor, bare summit.  Fail 
to heed one of these, and you can get seriousy messed up. 
(Been there, done that.)


rafe b
aka terrapin