Correct Method for Creating Blazes

[Big Oaf]

i just noticed one of the local trails (not amc) near me has been re-blazed. Instead of scratching out a piece of bark and spray painting the blaze they opted to spray paint pieces of aluminum and nail them to the tree. Is this considered a proper method? it would seem the tree would be more prone to disease this way? any thoughts on this? thanks, big oaf

 

[NewHampshire]

The North Uncanoonuc trail has little metal circles nailed into the trees and painted white. Look like they have been there a looooong time and the trees look fine. Us hunters here in NH must get landowner permission whenever we plan on using a treestand or steps that screw into the tree just in case damage to the tree occurs. I think its more of a cover your butt thing as Ive never seen a tree hurt to the point of killing it by putting any sort of object into it. Besides, Maple Sugarers pound taps into Maple trees that are hundreds of years old with no problems. So Im gonna say the trees should do just dandy .
Brian

 

[Big Oaf]

good point about the maples. just not sure why they changed how they normally do the blazes. it seems more expensive and vandals could easily remove them.

 

[lumberzac]

i just noticed one of the local trails (not amc) near me has been re-blazed. Instead of scratching out a piece of bark and spray painting the blaze they opted to spray paint pieces of aluminum and nail them to the tree. Is this considered a proper method? it would seem the tree would be more prone to disease this way? any thoughts on this? thanks, big oaf

Most trails in New York State us metal or plastic disks nailed to trees. I'm not sure if it damages the trees any more than other methods.

 

[peakbagger]

One point is that if someone elects to nail blazes to trees, they should use aluminum nails. Some day for some reason, long after the blaze has deteriorated, someone with a chansaw may be cutting a dead tree out of the way, and steel nails can break chains and become projectiles versus aluminum is softer and just cuts through.

As for the why of using this type of blazing, the conventional method of blazing was to scrape off the bark of the tree then paint, this exposes a lot more of the bark to disease. The current method of little or no scraping and the use of latex paint means that the blazes last for a lot less time than the old style. Probably compared to this new method, the nailed in tags last a lot longer.

 

[spencer]

I have hammered many, many, many nails into trees (not just for fun).

We always use aluminum for the reason peakbagger mentioned. Also, we don't hammer the nails all the way in b/c the phloem (i.e. bark) would grow around whatever you nailed to the tree, eventually "hiding" the item. Think about the old wire fences you see grown "into" the sides of old trees... If you leave the nail partially out, the tree has room to grow without the item interferring.

As for hurting the tree, nails do virtually no damage to the carbohydrate translocation that occurs in the phloem. The xylem (the actual wood part) fairs even better.

I've cored thousands and thousands of trees and I always get people asking if we put the cores back in the tree when we are done analyzing them. The worst thing you can do is to try to plug the hole. The phloem is very affective at healing itself with good old fashion cell division...

spencer

 

[DougPaul]

just not sure why they changed how they normally do the blazes. it seems more expensive and vandals could easily remove them.

The materials may be more expensive, but I'll bet the labor and time required to drive one nail is a lot less than that required to scrape and paint.

Doug

 

[kltilton]

I have blazed and painted trees while surveying property lines and it can be a messy and sometimes time consuming process. Personally I like the painted blazes over plastic or aluminum markers though. Not that paint is a natural thing in the White Mountains, but they look more like they should be there than those little markers. I remember way back when I was in kindergarten another kid told me that the trail blazes were put on the trees by the Indians. Maybe that's why I think they look so right!

 

[giggy]

yes - I have seen this in places. just recently too - can't remember where. never though much about it i guess.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

An advantage of the nailed-on markers is that they can be removed if the trail ir re-routed.

A disadvantage of the nailed-on markers is that they can be removed by souvenir seekers.

 

[Pete Hogan]

Marker Eating Trees

Unbeknownst to many hikers is a militant group of trees that have eluded DEC intelligence (Is that an oxymoron?) for years. It takes an extremely astute, experienced hiker to actually discover and capture these secretive species in the act of their life-long mission -- devouring trail markers!

While it normally takes years for total ingestion, trees are very patient and willing to go the distance. As they watch humans wander off-course and become delayed or lost on a "trailed route", trees laugh silently and are proud of their work.

I was fortunate to be able to see and photograph this mysterious phenomenon one day. This may explain how trees react to being violated by humans. See for yourself!

 

[Sherpa John]

All I know is that each blaze should be clearly marked at or slightly above eye level AND you supposed to be able to see the next blaze from the on eyour at.

 

[forestgnome]

I don't like to see more signage than neccessary, but I think it would be a great idea to put a second blaze a few feet above the eye-level at higher elevations. The eye-level blaze is often beneath the snow. I had an extremely difficult time following the trail between Mizpah Hut and Mt Jackson back in February. It broke my heart to step on alpine trees like that, but the trail was utterly impossible to distinguish.

 

[Grumpy]

A good discussion of how to apply paint blazes that last can be found here: link

Scroll down to and select the “How To Do It” section in the left hand menu to learn the technique, in excrutiating detail.

Note that “proper” scraping does not actually remove all the bark. In most cases it seems that within a year or so after the blaze is applied you have to look hard to recognize that the bark was scraped at all.

I’ve always liked the trail marking method used in the Adirondacks -- the colored (red, blue or yellow) metal or plastic discs fastened to trees with aluminum nails. The discs are large enough to be visible if you look for them but small enough to be unobtrusive. The colors provide good visual clues to what trail you are on as you go. I also like the Adirondack custom of using adequate guideboards (signs) at trail intersections. Yep, all of this reduces the sense of wilderness but it makes travel on established trails a lot more certain, which is what marking trails is all about in the first place.

G.

 

[bubba]

On the NYS Finger Lakes Trail they have started to use a piece rectangular shaped reflective material in many places. Very easy to see in the day as well as reflective at night. I really like them.

 

[Dalraida]

Old trail markers

As a bit of trivia. On the Black Angel Trail there are still a few enameled mile markers high up on trees from who knows when. I discovered these while working on this great old trail as the adopter in the early eighties.

 

[arghman]

The North Uncanoonuc trail has little metal circles nailed into the trees and painted white.

metal? I thought they were yogurt lids, I'll have to look again the next time I hike there.

 

[Bjarni]

Paint is for artists. Metal plates are for mailmen. The right way to blaze is to slash with an axe until there's roughly a square foot of tree relieved of its bark. Been doing it that way for years.

 

[BrentD22]

In bedded metal object?

I took this picture on the Sudbury Conservation Land near my house. I have no idea what it is, but for some reason the rest of the day I was creep'd out.