View Full Version : A White Blaze Painter Typology
Kerosene
10-23-2006, 16:22
Ever wonder who paints and maintains the blazes on different sections of the AT? What were they thinking of when they were lugging their bucket of paint and paintbrush for countless miles just to help a bunch of hikers who can't seem to stay on the very evident path? Here is a tongue-in-cheek classification of the much-appreciated volunteers that help blaze our favorite trail. I'm sure you will find others to add.
The Newbie: This volunteer just took over his/her section of trail, probably from a Pioneer. They're out on a lovely weekend morning with with their bucket, stencil and regulation paintbrush. Suddenly both sides of every other tree is a candidate for a blaze. The blazes are perfectly formed, but there are five or six visible at any time. After a mile or two The Newbie runs out of paint and the blazes pretty much disappear until the next road crossing.
The Minimalist: Blazes may be a necessity, but the this volunteer is an staunch environmentalist who doesn't want to hurt any trees or waste any paint when the path is so self-evident. This guy can only emblazons on trees with the smoothest bark of a certain diameter and can stretch a bucket to last for a 10-mile section.
The Basketball Player: How tall was this guy that he could put a blaze 10 feet up on a tree? Just north of Buena Vista, heading south, I saw a 9-foot high blaze, with a 4-foot high blaze on the next tree...must've been his kid.
The Psycho: Ever see those blazes that are tall and thin, cracked, with paint dripping from the bottom, the paint seemingly phosphorescent in the dark grove of gnarly pines? I wouldn't want to be be sleeping in the same area as this guy.
The Pioneer: Hey, you shouldn't be out here if you don't know which way to go. Why, in my day you had to use the sun and the moss on the trees to figure out which way to go. Blazes just ruin the wilderness experience.
Your Mom: Every slight jog in the trail has an offset dual blaze. You'd have to be blind to not know which way to go (cause mom's tend to be over-protective). Side trails use Robin's Egg Blue paint because it's prettier.
The Northbounder: This volunteer thru-hiked GAME a few years ago and doesn't really want to encourage that SOBO mentality. Blazing is great going north; infrequent at best going south.
The Long-Timer: This guy has maintained this section of trail for 40 years. The blazes are somewhat out of proportion as the originals were painted before the 2"x6" standard was adopted. You might even see a few of the old metal "diamond" markers embedded in a tree. Gaps in blazing frequency can crop up when a blaze tree falls, as no new trees are being blazed.
The Alien: What in the world was he/she thinking??? Maybe it wasn't a he/she afterall. That's what I was thinking when I passed between two pairs of blazed trees south of Dragon's Tooth. Was this an entry point into a trans-dimensional portal?
The Caveman: Don't use a tree for a blaze when a good rock is around, and build really big cairns just for show. To keep those cave-painting skills sharp, draw big arrows and label with something like, "AT, S<->N".
The Engineer: A graduate of RPI with advanced degrees in various engineering specialties. This guy wrote the book on blazing the AT and follows his club's policy (http://www.tehcc.org/trailmarkings.htm) to the letter. It can be pretty nice to follow his handiwork, but it takes a lot of effort to pull it off.
Paul Bunyan
10-23-2006, 19:04
Lol man, that is sooo true. I do have one more to add.
12. The YCC Worker: This a kid between the ages of 13 and 16. They are getting paid $500 dollars to do the same thing for three weeks, painting markers. These are the ones that are slapped on, sometimes at 45 degree angles. There also might be some that almost cover the tree in paint. They are people that want to get the job done, so they can go home and waste all their money on an Xbox.
wilderness bob
10-23-2006, 19:28
I have to add to this list, to cool.
13. The "Marathon hiker": A person who runs along the AT for fun. He figures he can re-blaze miles of trail and get in a good work out as well. No time to mess with the brush between re-marking though. They carry the paint dripping thing as they run and leave paint drops along the trail. These multi sized drippings sort of look as if a flock of pigeons followed along the trail from above.
I guess I would be closest to the "engineer" blazer as I have been told many times that my section has the best white blazes on the entire AT . It is very time consuming and done free handed. I dont "over-blaze" and usually lay out blazes during wintertime to see what is really needed and what isnt. Also I dont over use offset blazes like I see many doing even for switchbacks lol. I use the medium dark blue for blue-blazing (which I do alot of ! )
RAT
wonder if these correspond to zodiac signs?
I have to add to this list, to cool.
13. The "Marathon hiker": A person who runs along the AT for fun. He figures he can re-blaze miles of trail and get in a good work out as well. No time to mess with the brush between re-marking though. They carry the paint dripping thing as they run and leave paint drops along the trail. These multi sized drippings sort of look as if a flock of pigeons followed along the trail from above.
During my thru in "01" I came across a section of trail from Seth Warner shelter to Congdon Shelter in Mass that the job of painting blazes was so poor that I invisioned someone like Marathon hiker must of painted them.
The blazes were all sizes. Some were 6 in. x 12 in. Others went compleately around small trees. Paint had been dripped onto the ground between blazes.
The distance was about 10 miles and in the Cogdon Shelter register the painter claimed he had did it in 3 hours. At one point I could stand in one spot and count 12 blazes in front of me. This was the worst job of painting blazes, I saw, during mt 2,168 mile hike.
After finishing my hike, this disturbed me so much that I sent a letter to the Green Mountain Club that maintains this section.
Mother Nature
10-24-2006, 09:21
I found this blaze along with the next 10 or so following it on the Foothills, Trail in SC. That trail is blazed with the same white blaze as the AT.
This series of blazes were defaced to indicate the hikers displeasure at scrambling up and down a long series of wooden steps until finally dropping to lake level.
I am sure that people have felt the same way about some particualar sections of the AT!
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/3/3/0/0/020.Endoflonguphillstaircase.JPG
Mother Nature
i've seen little msg.s carved in them, can't remember where, but i think it was somewhere in tn/nc
they would say 'almost there' 'you can do it'
they were all very positive blazes
Rain Man
10-24-2006, 09:43
The Sunshine Blazer is one who could never imagine that hikers might be on the trail in any weather or at any time other than a clear, bright, sunny noon time on a recently cleared trail.
In other words, they can't imagine a hiker out at dawn or dusk or heaven forbid... in the DARK, or on a cloudy day or in rain or fog, or sleeting or snowing weather, or a thunderstorm, or in the fall when leaves obliterate the footpath, or in the winter when snow does, or when bushy vegetation abounds.
Rain:sunMan
P.S. I feel so bad complaining about trail maintainers, even in humor!
.
Kerosene
10-24-2006, 11:37
P.S. I feel so bad complaining about trail maintainers, even in humor!I had some of the same concern before I posted, which is why I attempted to carefully word my post. First and foremost, I really, really, really appreciate the immense amount of effort that goes into creating and maintaining a trail like this; and even then I probably don't fully appreciate all of the nuances. I posted this under the Trail Humor Forum since I'm not trying to rant (at least not too much!), all the while hoping that volunteers out there can laugh at themselves (kind of like software engineers like me laughing at Dilbert cartoons).
RockyTrail
10-24-2006, 11:53
The "Follow Me" Blazers: These blazers work in a team of two, and when a friendly hiker with backpack stops to talk to one of them about the art of trail maintenance, the other one quietly paints a whiteblaze on the backside of the hiker's pack (without his knowledge of course). Then, as the hiker cheerfully walks away, the blazers are bent over trying to supress their laughter with palms slapping the knee and grinning in agony. Later, the story is exaggerated and retold many times over refreshments at a local establishment.
(:D Just kidding, you fellows are the greatest, I salute you! By the way, "Goof-off" works great for getting dried paint off of silnylon)
gtothero
10-24-2006, 12:20
I've learned from experience that the fastest way to seal a tree's fate is to paint a blaze on it. If a tree falls in the woods, it will fall perpendicular to the trail.
Kerosene
10-24-2006, 13:26
I've learned from experience that the fastest way to seal a tree's fate is to paint a blaze on it. If a tree falls in the woods, it will fall perpendicular to the trail.I have a real life example. The only blaze I encountered between the intersection with Madison Gulf Trail and Lowe's Bald Spot, a distance of 2-3 miles on the AT just north of Pinkham Notch in New Hampshire, was on the trunk of a tree that had fallen or been cut down and was lying next to the trail.
i say we all clap our hands for those who mark the blazes, without you we would be lost, literally!
RockyTrail
10-24-2006, 13:49
Amen to that.
We probably got'em all ticked off by now:(
Oh well, they can paint my backpack anytime!
Paul Bunyan
10-25-2006, 08:35
As a trail marker at some state parks, i know how how hard it is to do those blazes. Lets give the real mainttainers a thundering applause. :clap :clap :clap :clap
I'm glad I waited. Sometimes that's a good idea.
I really appreciate well-blazed trail and realize it's not something that's easily done. It takes a special kind of person with a great deal of patience and a certain amount of skill to paint the perfect blaze free-hand, which I believe can be taught and learned, but to do the job well requires more than just applying paint.
Placement is also an important consideration. I'd say more on that subject if I had some additional time to throw after it, but I am hopeful some others will take up that subject.
I just want to say that I greatly appreciate everyone who takes the time to blaze hiking trails and especially the A.T. I wouldn't have been able to thru-hike the A.T. without them.;):) Those who have developed this skill, talent or art-form should spend time in the field with others who are willing to spend the time to learn how to do it well also.:-? :)
Big Dawg
10-29-2006, 13:43
"Bart" blazer
found this blaze heading south to Hot Springs,, made me lol. :D Obviously some "Simpson's" lover decided to deface a blaze,,, still made me laugh!!!
Hikerhead
10-29-2006, 14:03
I have a real life example. The only blaze I encountered between the intersection with Madison Gulf Trail and Lowe's Bald Spot, a distance of 2-3 miles on the AT just north of Pinkham Notch in New Hampshire, was on the trunk of a tree that had fallen or been cut down and was lying next to the trail.
The trail in that area went thru The Great Gulf Wilderness. I remember very well standing there in the dark and reading a sign saying that the AT was not blazed thru this wilderness. I also remember cursing to myself about the high probability of getting misdirected...again. :eek:
saimyoji
10-29-2006, 18:40
Didn't get a pic as it was raining too hard, but there is a tree between PA309 and Bake Oven Knob with a smiley face on it. My guess was that someone stashed something fun nearby, and that was their way of remembering.
The trail in that area went thru The Great Gulf Wilderness. I remember very well standing there in the dark and reading a sign saying that the AT was not blazed thru this wilderness. I also remember cursing to myself about the high probability of getting misdirected...again. :eek:
Sounds like a good reason to carry a map.
StarLyte
10-29-2006, 20:12
Didn't get a pic as it was raining too hard, but there is a tree between PA309 and Bake Oven Knob with a smiley face on it. My guess was that someone stashed something fun nearby, and that was their way of remembering.
Stumpknocker is the only person I know that uses the smiley faces, and if this was recently, it probably was his. I'll send him this post via pocketmail and we'll find out.
Hikerhead
10-29-2006, 20:45
Stumpknocker is the only person I know that uses the smiley faces, and if this was recently, it probably was his. I'll send him this post via pocketmail and we'll find out.
I think he meant that someone scratched the paint off the blaze to make a smiley face. Stumpy would never deface a blaze. :)
saimyoji
10-29-2006, 20:48
No, there was a white smiley face painted in the same paint as the blaze below it. I'll have to hike up there again and take a pic sometime.
Hikerhead
10-29-2006, 20:52
Sounds like a good reason to carry a map.
It is and we both were. One thing that had me puzzled was when I followed a creek going up stream for good ways, 1/2 mile maybe. No where on the map does it show the trail following a creek. But it all ended well.
stumpknocker
10-29-2006, 22:13
Stumpknocker is the only person I know that uses the smiley faces, and if this was recently, it probably was his. I'll send him this post via pocketmail and we'll find out.
Starlyte, thanks for the email.
I was through that area within the last two weeks, but don't remember the smiley face. Maybe it was on the wrong side of the tree for a sobo to see it. :)
I do remember walking through NY on the AT several years in a row and feeling like I was being watched. Someone used to pencil in an eye on the white blazes....and they were very good at drawing the eyes. They were all repainted this year, so I got through NY without being seen. Ha!!!
There was this smiley face at the beginning of a blue blazed trail along the AT that Yolanda posted on her journal; http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=190999
saimyoji
10-29-2006, 22:34
Starlyte, thanks for the email.
I was through that area within the last two weeks, but don't remember the smiley face. Maybe it was on the wrong side of the tree for a sobo to see it. :)
Yeah, it was only on the south side of the tree, none on the north side, thus if you were walking sobo you'd have to turn around and look in the right spot.
Paul Bunyan
10-30-2006, 22:39
Me and my parents were hicking a section this last weekend, and we saw some kind of blaze that looked like a hiker. I am serious, it had legs, arms, and a pack. To see it, go nobo into harpers ferry, it's either right before or right after some entrenchments.
I found this blaze along with the next 10 or so following it on the Foothills, Trail in SC. That trail is blazed with the same white blaze as the AT.
This series of blazes were defaced to indicate the hikers displeasure at scrambling up and down a long series of wooden steps until finally dropping to lake level.
I am sure that people have felt the same way about some particualar sections of the AT!
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/3/3/0/0/020.Endoflonguphillstaircase.JPG
Mother Nature
oh yea, i remember seeing that blaze on teh foothills! those steps were intense...and, completely redundant--straight up and straight down. :rolleyes:
Crash! Bang!
11-23-2006, 00:54
15. the fake blazer. local hillbilly cannibal luring unsuspecting hikers off the real trail and onto his property with poorly painted AT blazes in shapes ranging from standard 2 x 6 rectangle to squarish, and color ranging from white to off-white/bluish, for the purpose of gutting and eating you
Paul Bunyan
11-23-2006, 16:37
Lol man, that's funny.
Brushy Sage
11-26-2006, 17:53
There is always room in the trail maintaining clubs for new members who want to learn the art and science of painting blazes.
saimyoji
03-05-2007, 16:22
Didn't get a pic as it was raining too hard, but there is a tree between PA309 and Bake Oven Knob with a smiley face on it. My guess was that someone stashed something fun nearby, and that was their way of remembering.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=15426&c=520
Went back up there the other day.....:-?
fireneck
12-10-2011, 04:30
Bangor, ME is serviced by Greyhound, Portland is the nearist Amtrak stop. 100 Mile Wilderness Adventures offers shuttles to Bangor. Some thru-hikers rent cars and drive to Boston or NYC and depart from there.
100 Mile Wilderness Adventures & Outfitters
PO Box 47, Bray Road, Monson, ME 04464
207-991-7030
[email protected]
fireneck
12-10-2011, 04:30
^^^D'oh! WRONG THREAD!!^^
I learned a new blazing tip last year:
Instead of carrying a bucket or can, the guy leading the section hike of the North-South Trail in RI brought a couple of mustard squirter (or ketchup) bottles with blue (NST's color) paint in them. When he needed to paint a blaze, he merely squirted a small amount onto his brush to do the job. He kept the brush in a zip-lock bag. Since then I've been doing the same. This may be common these days, I don't know for sure, but it was new to me.