Trail Blazing, Trail Stewardship – Painted trail blazing (paint marks on trees that mark the path of a trail) along the White Mountains trail system is an endless complaint among outdoor enthusiasts. Either the trail is excessively blazed or not blazed enough. I don’t mind the trails that have little trail blazing, but I'm not a fan of the excessive trail blazing.
Proper trail blazing protocol seems to vary among the trail maintenance organizations, but the ending result is the same. Most of these organizations agree that a standard trail blaze is a two inch by six inch rectangle placed about head height on trees. No painting of arrows, only a single vertical blaze, should be painted on a tree. For more information on blazing see the Randolph Mountain Club’s trail blazing protocol page.
There are exceptions to the single blaze rule, such as using a two blaze combination (above) to indicate the trail changes direction. Explaining the different meanings of trail blazes would require a blog article dedicated to this subject. So if you are interested in learning more about the meanings of trail blazes, click here.
Trail blazing plays an important role in trail maintenance, but when it gets to the point where it is aesthetically ugly, it is no longer acceptable stewardship practices. The point of view of those outdoor enthusiasts who feel trail blazes painted on trees takes away from the outdoor experience has merit.
Here is the problem, volunteers paint most of the painted trail blazes along the White Mountains trail system. And most of the volunteers working the trail system have good intentions. So when outdoor enthusiasts complain about excessive trail blazing along a trail, its possible a volunteer did it.
However, for the most part, trail maintenance organizations in New Hampshire do train volunteers on basic trail blazing protocol. And this raises the question of accountability. It’s a waste of time and resources if volunteers ignore the training they are given. So should volunteers be held accountable when they don't follow proper trail maintenance protocol?
Without volunteers, the White Mountains trail system would be in turmoil. And the ones who do donate two or three days a year to better the trail system deserve praise. But with that being said, trail blazing is an art form, and not everyone should be playing with paint in nature. Would having a trail crew dedicated to doing just trail blazing create a more uniform and acceptable blazing system throughout the White Mountains?
To license any of the above images for usage in publications, click on the image. And you can view more trail blaze photos here.
Happy image making..
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Owner of ScenicNH Photography LLC
Erin Paul is a professional photographer, writer, and author who specializes in environmental conservation and historic preservation photography mainly in the New Hampshire White Mountains. His work is published worldwide, and publication credits include: Appalachian Mountain Club, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Backpacker Magazine, and The Wilderness Society.
ScenicNH Photography LLC
Specializing in environmental conservation and historic preservation photography mainly in the White Mountains region of New Hampshire, Erin Paul’s photography and writing focuses on the history of the White Mountains, and telling the story of abandoned places and forgotten historical sites.