City & County 05: Blazes
Otherwise known as reassurance markers
Mt. Monadnock, south-west New Hampshire.
Where I grew up in the Sierra Nevada foothills, trails stood out, inscribed onto the fields and slopes by foot, horse or cow or deer hoof, and bicycle tire. Unless a trail was severely under-traveled, the manzanita, kitkidizee, and poison oak underneath the mixed oak, pine, and cedar forest grew too slowly to cover or enclose the passageway. Where I now live in New England, this is not the case. By late fall, trails can disappear under the leaf litter from the region’s deciduous trees. By winter, snow and ice can then cover the path completely. So trails are marked by blazes, painted or affixed markers signifying the path. When out walking a path or trail, blazes show you where to go, they keep the walker on the trail. These painted or sign-based markers are applied to trees at around eye-height, or onto rocks directly if above tree line (rock cairns are also used above tree line). The differences in application and style and color have interested me for the past six years; they designate one trail system versus another, such as the Mid-State Trail stretching north-to-south across Worcester County, or the New England Trail traveling from the coast of Connecticut to Mount Monadnock in southern New Hampshire, the former with yellow plastic diamonds nailed to trees, and the latter with white, vertical rectangles. Especially in the dense, shadowy greenery of a forest, blazes stand out by design, offering a focal point that, in looking back at photographs, is a way to differentiate one trail from another when the landscape, deep in the trees, often looks similar from one area to another.
The New England Trail in late winter, outside Erving, Massachusetts.
The United States Forest Service maintains information about trail plans and specifications that details how to construct these reassurance markers, including a scale drawing noting height from the ground and construction style (link).
The Mid-State Trail near Rutland, Massachusetts.
The Sign and Poster Guidelines for the Forest Service planning document notes the intended use and standardized design of reassurance markers, writing:
To keep travelers on course, use reassurance markers at all intersections and locations where the trail location could be uncertain. Do not use the national logo marker off the national trail. Reassurance markers may be placed on a separate post or tree, or just below a guide sign on the same support if mounted below a guide sign. They shall be mounted or branded directly on the post or tree supporting the sign, or on a separate board (approximately 6 by 10 inches) that is fastened to the support. Directional arrows below the marker shall indicate the direction of the trail. When mounted on a post or tree, reassurance markers shall be about 5 feet above the level of the tread. (Chapter 5, Section 24, or p. 300 of 681 (!) in the pdf) (Link)
As the photos indicate, the markers vary with local context as well as age and wear; the standardization is not that standard.
The Appalachian Trail in the White Mountains, New Hampshire.