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Tuxedo
01-09-2013, 15:53
I want to know how solid of an idea I have before passing it on the the ATC

If your a dumb tush like me then You may or may not have traveled backwards for a few hours retracing last night steps. I spent about 7miles doing this from early rise to night hiking and coming to a section were I got lost in the stars and when turning my headlamp back on found the trail just fine just not the direction I wanted to go. A white blaze looks the same either direction of travel.

18912
Open idea here but a NOBO would see a blaze like this and SOBO would see the pin/marker/dot on the bottom

I would suggest reflective qualities to the color of the mark and color could signal direction as well if further brain storm gains traction.

In my mind I don't see this on every blaze but mostly trail heads, gaps, trail intersections, 1-10times a mile and shelter/campsite entry/exit. Anywhere a collective of old fs and carriage roads criss cross the AT.

Can a mark be economical, low maintenance, environmental and easy for all clubs to adapt... an over-all WW Bob Peoples do?

hikerboy57
01-09-2013, 19:36
I want to know how solid of an idea I have before passing it on the the ATC

If your a dumb tush like me then You may or may not have traveled backwards for a few hours retracing last night steps. I spent about 7miles doing this from early rise to night hiking and coming to a section were I got lost in the stars and when turning my headlamp back on found the trail just fine just not the direction I wanted to go. A white blaze looks the same either direction of travel.

18912
Open idea here but a NOBO would see a blaze like this and SOBO would see the pin/marker/dot on the bottom

I would suggest reflective qualities to the color of the mark and color could signal direction as well if further brain storm gains traction.

In my mind I don't see this on every blaze but mostly trail heads, gaps, trail intersections, 1-10times a mile and shelter/campsite entry/exit. Anywhere a collective of old fs and carriage roads criss cross the AT.

Can a mark be economical, low maintenance, environmental and easy for all clubs to adapt... an over-all WW Bob Peoples do?
people would forget which is which.
the at is not the only trail blazed this way and its worked pretty well for a lot of years, and follows the same basic blazing used on most other trails to indicate turns and termini.it is also considerably easier to follow than many many other blazed trails ive been on.

Rain Man
01-09-2013, 21:42
I like the idea. While most blazing works most of the time and is on obvious trail, many hikers don't hike only on beautifully clear afternoons in bright sunshine and the footpath is not always obvious. Some hike in fog, in rain, at night, etc. and in conditions that the footpath and blazes can almost disappear in the faint light of headlamps. A bit of reflective something would be great, IMHO.

Rain Man

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Sarcasm the elf
01-09-2013, 21:49
I like the idea of a directional marking, however i think that a simple "N -->" or "<---S" painted onto the occasional blaze would be more intuitive to the average hiker.

A good number of the trailheads in my area have signs posted that read "<--Georgia | Maine -->" these do a good job, plus I chuckle a bit when I think of how much they probably confuse non hikers that pass them on the road.