Slow down with the paint, please

[babbage]

Dos Equis -- These must really help the "where am I" crowd.


Attachment 7254

[beakerman]

Irrelevant to this discussion; it was just a ****ty unprofessional job, nothing else. LNT or environmental damage not an issue here.

John has this completely surrounded I think. I don't think that even the hardest of the hardcore on either side would disagree that it looks like crap.

Personally I like the idea of knowing where water is when it is scarce. The active word there is scarce---I don't need to know where it is if I can find a spring every quarter mile but if it's 10 or more miles between fill ups and they are not visible from the trail then yes I want a small marker to tell me "hey there's a spring over there..."

I'll stack my navigation/map skills up against anyone or anything. I've been closer the pin via topo and compass as a GPS in head to head competition. But I don't want to miss the only water source for the next 10 for 15 miles because someone decided it was wrong to place some sort of marker on a post or tree so I could find it without pulling the the maps and compass out or looking at my GPS.

[Dances with Mice]

John has this completely surrounded I think. I don't think that even the hardest of the hardcore on either side would disagree that it looks like crap.

Personally I like the idea of knowing where water is when it is scarce. The active word there is scarce---I don't need to know where it is if I can find a spring every quarter mile but if it's 10 or more miles between fill ups and they are not visible from the trail then yes I want a small marker to tell me "hey there's a spring over there..."

To me it's goes a little deeper and it's a blend of my tree-huggin' tendencies with a conservative core belief that any job worth doing is worth doing right. Put those two together and the orange slop is just plain disrespectful. And that's a problem.

My tree-huggin' self says water sources are important and they should be respected. I further believe that same care should also extend to how they're accessed and marked. The access trail shouldn't become a mudslide ending in the spring, for example. Globs of dayglo indicate a lack of care and concern. If it's marked trashy would it surprise anyone to find trash being left around the spring?

[take-a-knee]

To me it's goes a little deeper and it's a blend of my tree-huggin' tendencies with a conservative core belief that any job worth doing is worth doing right. Put those two together and the orange slop is just plain disrespectful. And that's a problem.

My tree-huggin' self says water sources are important and they should be respected. I further believe that same care should also extend to how they're accessed and marked. The access trail shouldn't become a mudslide ending in the spring, for example. Globs of dayglo indicate a lack of care and concern. If it's marked trashy would it surprise anyone to find trash being left around the spring?

I can't argue with that! Since you actually are a trail maintainer of good repute you've also earned the right to be critical of another maintainer's work. And again, many thanks for all you've done on the Duncan Ridge Trail.

[Rockhound]

2 inch X 4 inch blazes work just fine. Was the person who did this using a mop? I agree. This is an eyesore

[bsa-troop6]

Thanks for all the input. I am the TN/NC Maintenance Director for the BMT. It is all my fault. This used to be a section where people were getting lost with regularity due to poor maintenance and poor blazing, and on this long stretch there were only two water sources. We went overboard to be sure noone got lost or went thirsty. Once the tread gets more defined with use, we will tone things down and remove some of the blazes. Sorry to cause such an uproar. The other problem was that 4-wheelers use the trails on top of the mountain and hikers were following the 4-wheeler tracks off the mountain ridge rather than the BMT and getting lost. Keeping a trail well maintained and able to be followed without getting lost is a real challenge sometimes, especially in areas like this.

[bsa-troop6]

The picture with the trees with X's is where people were regularly following the 4-wheeler trail down the mountain. We had to do something to keep people on the correct trail. We even had some of our maintainers accidentally go down the wrong trail at this point and after they discovered their mistake, they did not get back to their cars until very late (and very tired, turning a 7 mile maintenance trip into about a 11 mile trip). We will go back and tone down the blazing soon.

[beakerman]

To me it's goes a little deeper and it's a blend of my tree-huggin' tendencies with a conservative core belief that any job worth doing is worth doing right. Put those two together and the orange slop is just plain disrespectful. And that's a problem.

My tree-huggin' self says water sources are important and they should be respected. I further believe that same care should also extend to how they're accessed and marked. The access trail shouldn't become a mudslide ending in the spring, for example. Globs of dayglo indicate a lack of care and concern. If it's marked trashy would it surprise anyone to find trash being left around the spring?

I think we agree but for different reasons...I think I'll let it at that...unless you disagree with that assesment.

[babbage]

I really appreciate all the work you guys have done to keep that trail clear. It was obvious that a lot of work had been done. Sorry I had to call out the paint issues.
Hopefully the trees will not sustain too much damage when that paint is removed.

On the bright side - at least one knucklehead liked the look of it.

[bsa-troop6]

We plan to go back up there on Wednesday. We will replace the orange with light blue diamonds at both the Round Top Spring and the one at the gap just north of Hazelnut. I will post pictures afterwards. Again thanks for all the zillions of comments. I think you all will like the resolution. Next time how about contacting us directly. This is easy to do through the www.bmta.org website. I did not pick up on this concern until a couple of days ago when a friend brought it to my attention. If I had known much earlier, we could have fixed it a long time ago. I do belong to White Blaze but seldom check out what is being said about the BMT. I will try to do this more regularly. Before the maintenance we did on this section of trail this spring and summer, this section of trail was almost impassible. I inherited a lot of problems on the TN/NC section of the trail when I agreed to take over this maintenance coordination position. We are approaching getting the entire 100 miles of trail in the TN/NC section complete and up to standards, all in the past year. We also are about to publish a much needed trail guide to this section, and when it is out, I will let you all know. It will be available through www.bmta.org and also REI and places like that.

[mister krabs]

Thanks for all the work you and the boys do, Doc. There's a special place in heaven reserved for trail maintainers. Maybe on the top of a mountain with a great view or something....

[Rain Man]

Before the maintenance we did on this section of trail this spring and summer, this section of trail was almost impassible. I inherited a lot of problems on the TN/NC section of the trail when I agreed to take over this maintenance coordination position. We are approaching getting the entire 100 miles of trail in the TN/NC section complete and up to standards, all in the past year. We also are about to publish a much needed trail guide to this section, and when it is out, I will let you all know....

Wow! Congrats and THANKS for all the hard work. I agree about a special place in heaven for trail maintainers. And apologies for the posters in this thread with reading comprehension problems.

RainMan

.

[babbage]

Oh Snap!

That is a challenge if I ever heard one...

It's remote, it's scary...but you'll know where the water is.

Well Rain man...are you gonna prove him wrong?

By the way-- if you aint got it in you to stay overnight there is a road to drive up to Sandy Gap. Or you could hike up Kirkland Creek to get there. But beware of the bears - no painted trees for those.
There was a mamma and two babies on Brookshire Creek, by-the-by.
And the Copperheads were everywhere, but they may be gone now.

It gets dark in them hills - anything can happen.

[Hipneck]

I have also passed these large and frequent blazes between Six Mile and Unicoi Gap. I think it is just being an ass to rip the maintainers, rather than sending a thoughtful message to the organization.

Regarding the 'stay in the city' comments, what gives you the right to make assumptions about the skills of others. Do we not benefit if others learn to enjoy, appreciate and then protect our parks and forests?

As a member of the BMTA, and a Trail Maintainer, I welcome all feedback about the state of the trail, but would like to see a more constructive approach.

[Egads]

I have also passed these large and frequent blazes between Six Mile and Unicoi Gap. I think it is just being an ass to rip the maintainers, rather than sending a thoughtful message to the organization.

Regarding the 'stay in the city' comments, what gives you the right to make assumptions about the skills of others. Do we not benefit if others learn to enjoy, appreciate and then protect our parks and forests?

As a member of the BMTA, and a Trail Maintainer, I welcome all feedback about the state of the trail, but would like to see a more constructive approach.

I passed that same spot at night last February. Had no water and only headlights. Would have made a difference to see the blaze for me. Ended up getting bad water out of the ditch at Unicoi Gap and getting sick as a dog.

[MintakaCat]

Goodness, all this anger on this thread.

I received word today that a friend of mine is off his chemo but is still taking a drug to help prevent his seizures. After receiving this news, I then read this thread.

Somehow, the orange paint on trees doesn’t seem important enough to which all this anger is merited. Important? Yes. Enough to get this angry? No.

Just saying.

[sheepdog]

Goodness, all this anger on this thread.

I received word today that a friend of mine is off his chemo but is still taking a drug to help prevent his seizures. After receiving this news, I then read this thread.

Somehow, the orange paint on trees doesn’t seem important enough to which all this anger is merited. Important? Yes. Enough to get this angry? No.

Just saying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5513mXmQbw4

[Alligator]

A lot of drama here over some paint that's been scheduled to be fixed.

Deep breaths everyone. Breathe in...breathe out.........breathe in...................
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Breathe out.

[Alligator]

I see that the corrections may be made tomorrow but I would offer up possible alternatives/additions as well. Sometimes the light blue symbols are hard to determine as different than white in the dark, so if there was a suitable way to reflectorize them that would be great (if permissible). Those little dots the hunters use to mark trails really do stand out. Or a sign. When on autopilot, I will still home in on signs, particularly if they extend out from the main trunk of the tree.

Thanks for the hard work put into this trail. I have not had the opportunity to travel on it but I expect to someday.

[weary]

Too much blazing is a common problem among new maintainers, especially new maintainers who are also new to trails in general.

A neat dollar bill sized blaze, placed line of sight apart, quickly blends into the background and is not noticed except when a walker needs to pay special attention, and then it becomes visible.

Oversized, blotchy, irregular shaped blazes are a constant eyesore. I fought against the latter during the years I was an overseer in the 100-mile-wilderness. And do so constantly as stewardship chair of our local land trust trails.

Most maintainers quickly learn to appreciate the wisdom of restraint. But in the interest of full disclosure, I should report that from time to time I also hear complaints from folks who have gotten lost on our trails. I just tell them, sorry about that.

Weary