Caps Ridge

[hikeritz]

I climbed Mt. Jefferson yesterday on the Caps Ridge trail. As I was finishing up I realized I hadn't seen the usual "Alpine Zone" and "Turn back now, you'll die" signs near treeline. Did I miss them? I assumed those signs were standard issue on all trails in the Whites that go above treeline. Yellow paint blazes were also few & far between (or badly faded), so perhaps it's a maintenance issue. I did spot "Forest Protection Area" signs (entering/leaving) 0.25 miles from the parking lot.

 

[sierra]

I climbed Mt. Jefferson yesterday on the Caps Ridge trail. As I was finishing up I realized I hadn't seen the usual "Alpine Zone" and "Turn back now, you'll die" signs near treeline. Did I miss them? I assumed those signs were standard issue on all trails in the Whites that go above treeline. Yellow paint blazes were also few & far between (or badly faded), so perhaps it's a maintenance issue. I did spot "Forest Protection Area" signs (entering/leaving) 0.25 miles from the parking lot.

Those signs are not on every trail that enters the alpine zone, in fact most trails do not have them. As far as blazes go, that's a trail maintenance issue and this seems to be the norm in many areas. I've been repeatedly commenting in netrailconditions that trails need to be re-blazed. The Caps Ridge maintainer is a member here, maybe he will comment on it.

 

[DayTrip]

I climbed Mt. Jefferson yesterday on the Caps Ridge trail. As I was finishing up I realized I hadn't seen the usual "Alpine Zone" and "Turn back now, you'll die" signs near treeline. Did I miss them? I assumed those signs were standard issue on all trails in the Whites that go above treeline. Yellow paint blazes were also few & far between (or badly faded), so perhaps it's a maintenance issue. I did spot "Forest Protection Area" signs (entering/leaving) 0.25 miles from the parking lot.

Unless it fell off it used to be engulfed by some scrub just before breaking tree line. I just went down that way a few weeks ago but I didn't really notice if it was there. The blazes on that trail have been faded for a long time. Route is pretty straightforward though so and there are a lot of cairns so not sure what value they provided anyway.

 

[ImYourHuckleberry]

I wouldn't mind removing/stopping all blazing and just keeping signs at trailheads and intersections.

 

[sierra]

I wouldn't mind removing/stopping all blazing and just keeping signs at trailheads and intersections.

There are many reasons that is not a good idea.

 

[maineguy]

I wouldn't mind removing/stopping all blazing and just keeping signs at trailheads and intersections.

Well, that's pretty much what we have out here.

 

[JoshandBaron]

There are many reasons that is not a good idea.

That's policy for every Wilderness in the country.

 

[akafuzzjones]

As far as I know there were never "turn around or you will die signs" on Caps Ridge, and the Forest Protection sign is relatively new. Some idiotic chucklehead did put a "Da Caps" sign up a few years ago that had to be removed. Below treeline I don't think you need blazes, it's pretty straight forward, but I will look again next time I am up there doing work. It is second nature to me so I may be missing something. Above treeline we are no longer allowed to paint blazes on rocks. Need to use cairns. I have been unsuccessful in petitioning the powers that be to get real cairns installed (more work than a single person can do), so for now it's little piles of rocks here and there.

 

[maineguy]

There most assuredly was a "turn back now" sign on the Caps Ridge Trail. However, I was last there in 2022 and have no recollection of seeing it.

 

[sierra]

That's policy for every Wilderness in the country.

I know what the Wilderness policies are, he did not say in a Wilderness.

 

[ImYourHuckleberry]

I know what the Wilderness policies are, he did not say in a Wilderness.

Correct. I'm advocating for this policy in all of the Whites and other areas too. I think Josh was questioning why you thought it wasn't a good idea when it's actually policy in designated wilderness and it seems to work fine.

 

[TomK]

That's policy for every Wilderness in the country.

Without venturing a opinion on if it is or isn't a good idea, I would point out that something being "policy" is not an argument for (or against) that something.

TomK

 

[sierra]

Correct. I'm advocating for this policy in all of the Whites and other areas too. I think Josh was questioning why you thought it wasn't a good idea when it's actually policy in designated wilderness and it seems to work fine.

I support the Wilderness policies, I appreciate the concept. Outside of the Wilderness, I support the use of blazes. Do I want to explain my reasons? Not really.

 

[NHChris]

I wouldn't mind removing/stopping all blazing and just keeping signs at trailheads and intersections.

Not a good idea.

Example: Hike in Fall during/after heavy leaf drop and you often must rely on blazing to follow the trail. Above tree line blazing helps keep trampers on the established foot path rather than threading herd paths around every obstacle.

 

[hikeritz]

In addition to the navigation issues of herd paths, there's also a need to consider the impact on alpine vegetation. Best to keep folks on an established path.

 

[ImYourHuckleberry]

I think the arguments against eliminating blazing make some sense. In particular, the above treeline areas with sensitive vegetation. Some of my favorite hikes though have been on trails and in areas with less maintenance. Things like Grafton Loop and in Wilderness Areas. But I guess with the amount of use the Whites get now, blazing makes sense.

 

[MikePS]

Not to mention breaking out a trail with deep snow

 

[jrcinnh]

We maintain lower Ammo and Lower Jewell. The blazes on Jewell are too numerous but also too faded. We've asked several times to restore blazes at a greater spacing. Every time, they say we should brush out the corridor better and let the blazes fade away.
Some of our contacts tell us in confidence that blazes and bridges are out for this era of management, too much ongoing maintenance. The last era went improvement crazy and now the pendulum is swinging back.

 

[DayTrip]

Some of our contacts tell us in confidence that blazes and bridges are out for this era of management, too much ongoing maintenance.

Slapping a blaze on a tree every 100-200 ft is LESS work than brushing out a corridor? Never done blazing before but brushing would seem to be pretty labor intensive, especially if it is not done often. I love overgrown trails and wilderness areas so I'd be fine if they stopped both.

 

[jrcinnh]

Slapping a blaze on a tree every 100-200 ft is LESS work than brushing out a corridor? Never done blazing before but brushing would seem to be pretty labor intensive, especially if it is not done often. I love overgrown trails and wilderness areas so I'd be fine if they stopped both.

We have to brush out anyway, blazing is extra. I personally feel appropriate blazing is useful in very dense or very sparse forest.