View Full Version : Blue blazes
I see references in posts regarding blue blazes off of the AT. Am i right to believe that these are side trails to water or a "scenic" area or are they just side trails? Does the color blaze meaning also change from state to state?
Lone Wolf
03-18-2014, 11:17
some are old AT routes
WingedMonkey
03-18-2014, 11:27
Blue blaze Spur trails off the AT to bad-weather routes, views, shelters, water sources etc are often marked by AT style blazes painted Blue.
Blue-blazer is a long-distance hiker who substitutes a section of blue-blazed trail for a white-blazed section between two points on the Trail.
Trail Slang for the Appalachian Trail
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/content.php?217
It doesn't change state to state, blaze colors are consistent along the whole trail. Blue blazes are used to denote side trails to scenic overlooks, water sources, or shelters among other things.
The AT's blaze is consistent from Springer to Katahdin. Blue blaze is a generic name for a side-trail connected to the AT, but the blazes of "other" trails may be almost anything -- but hopefully not the 2x6" white stripe of the AT. It gets confusing in a part of PA where the non-AT trail is also blazed in white stripes.
When you get to Kathadin, just beyond the terminus sign, if you look on the rocks, you will see a blue blaze. It is not a side trail, nor a trail to water. It means you may stop.
peakbagger
03-19-2014, 06:29
One major exception is VT, I believe the Long Trail has whiteblazes as well as the AT as the LT was there first.
Tennessee Viking
03-19-2014, 15:44
It varies depending on land managment and side trail destination and frequency of side trails.
Mostly, blue blazes in the south are either sidetrails to overlooks, water, by-pass trails, or old AT routes.
Sometimes sidetrails can be pink, yellow, green, red