View Full Version : blazes
stunt man
12-31-2009, 05:38
this is prob a crazy question but for some reason i bet there is someone on here that has an answer... has anyone counted the number of blazes on the trail? or anyone know how many there are? no real reason for asking but just kinda curious.
World-Wide
12-31-2009, 05:48
this is prob a crazy question but for some reason i bet there is someone on here that has an answer... has anyone counted the number of blazes on the trail? or anyone know how many there are? no real reason for asking but just kinda curious.
Hey Stunt man,
The towards the bottom of the page of the attached site, http://www.visitnc.com/journeys/articles/popular-attractions/1/the-appalachian-trail-in-nc it states that there are approximately 165,000 blazes along the trail. But I suppose trail modifications/reroutes continually change the actual number? :) W-W
Note: The A.T. is marked with 2x6 inch vertical white paint blazes. A double blaze, one above the other, is placed before turns, junctions, or other areas that require hikers to be alert. There are approximately 165,000 such blazes along the Appalachian Trail.
stunt man
12-31-2009, 05:59
wow... thats alot! haha thanks!
stunt man
12-31-2009, 06:02
by the way W-W, stay safe... from a fellow brother in arms.
Gary "Blaze" Monk counted the northbound A.T. blazes on his 2002 thru-hike. With little fanfare, he updated his TrailJournals page with a blaze count for every day, along with his cumulative count. His final entry is here: http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=22746.
Not long after he hiked the A.T. he joined the Georgia A.T. Club (http://www.georgia-atclub.org) and started doing volunteer trail work. In just a few short years he became the club's Supervisor of Trails; he's now the club's president. He was featured in a volunteer profile in ATC's magazine, A.T. Journeys (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.mqLTIYOwGlF/b.4805925/k.A2D3/AT_Journeys.htm), earlier this year.
Gary's volunteer profile is not on-line (we only post a few features from each issue of the magazine), but there is a wonderful article on over-50 female thru-hikers, "A Hike of Their Own," on-line from the current issue.
Laurie Potteiger
ATC
World-Wide
12-31-2009, 07:12
by the way W-W, stay safe... from a fellow brother in arms.
Thanks stunt man!! Have a great New Year's!! :D W-W
Tennessee Viking
12-31-2009, 09:57
At least I know we in the TEHCC do. Each of our sections is counted in order to determine if the trail is overblazed or not.
Pray tell, what is the magical number which confers upon TEHCC immunity to AT hiker complaints?:)
Many Walks
12-31-2009, 11:42
165,000 blazes might be construed as a lot of paint in the woods. Not sure of the angle yet, but it seems like the global warming people are missing an opportunity here. Surprised someone isn't calling for an Environmental Impact Statement involving the paint manufacturing processes combined with the reflected warmth due to positioning of the blazes relative to the sun. Might be an opportunity to establish another government department. Surely they can come up with something as justification to tax hikers each time we walk by a blaze. Al Gore, where are you? :D
Blissful
12-31-2009, 12:36
My fav blaze was the red white and blue one in NY