torch
03-14-2004, 20:59
Wrongly blazed trail in Mass!
I'm not sure if this is the correct forum heading to post a blaze warning, but in my weekend hike in Mass this past Fri. afternoon I went down the wrong trail due to some confusing blazes. I don't know if the wrong blazes were due to locals playing a joke or if a local trail is blazed in white as well, but they take you in the wrong direction. It was made more difficult by the fact that it was snowing pretty hard and the snow on the trees made it difficult to see that these other blazes were not really rectangular but rather blobbish instead, so they may not be as confusing in the warmer weather ahead.
Anyway, the confusing spot is just after you pass northbound over the Housitonic River. As you leave Kellogg Rd. and cross Board St. up into the hill, there is a ATV trail that veers to the right. DON'T TAKE THIS! The AT veers to the left and is not as cleared out as the ATV trail. There are only two trees that I saw in viewing distance that had these blazes on them, and I rubbed them off (in retrospect not a good idea in case it was not a local yahoo playing a prank...) fairly easily, but in case the blobs return, just be aware in that area!
I'm not sure if this is the correct forum heading to post a blaze warning, but in my weekend hike in Mass this past Fri. afternoon I went down the wrong trail due to some confusing blazes. I don't know if the wrong blazes were due to locals playing a joke or if a local trail is blazed in white as well, but they take you in the wrong direction. It was made more difficult by the fact that it was snowing pretty hard and the snow on the trees made it difficult to see that these other blazes were not really rectangular but rather blobbish instead, so they may not be as confusing in the warmer weather ahead.
Anyway, the confusing spot is just after you pass northbound over the Housitonic River. As you leave Kellogg Rd. and cross Board St. up into the hill, there is a ATV trail that veers to the right. DON'T TAKE THIS! The AT veers to the left and is not as cleared out as the ATV trail. There are only two trees that I saw in viewing distance that had these blazes on them, and I rubbed them off (in retrospect not a good idea in case it was not a local yahoo playing a prank...) fairly easily, but in case the blobs return, just be aware in that area!