Whatever eventually happens, its great to read all of this banter and to know that so many people care about national scenic trails like the CDT. Stay positive, keep walking, and keep the trails alive!<div><br></div><div>
Carpe diem</div><div>-Gantz</div><div><a href="http://www.walkwithgantz.com">www.walkwithgantz.com</a><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 4:46 PM, Dan Bedore <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mr_dan_bedore@yahoo.com">mr_dan_bedore@yahoo.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><br>
I get it and I agree that the CDT needs to be further developed BUT...<br>
<br>
I AM hung up with something that looks crappy and does not work...<br>
<br>
I go to the wilderness to not see stuff like flagging tape everywhere. A well marked trail, as mentioned by others, is blazed not at intersections but just far enough from an intersection so that the blaze can be seen from the intersection, and positively identifies which trailbed leaving the intersection is the desired trail. So long as the trailbed is distinct, no additional blazes are needed until the next intersection unless... The trail goes for miles, in which case a confidence blaze every half mile or so is nice. If the trailbed is not distinct, the next blaze ought to be visible from the last.<br>
<br>
Axe blazes, metal or plastic emblems, and rock cairns last many years, and so are worth the effort expended installing them. Surveyor's tape falls off in a few months, so there's a pretty good chance that no one will benefit from tape on a little traveled route like the CDT. Once the tape has rotted and fallen off, it's ugly garbage. I can't count the pounds of such stuff I've hauled out of the sticks, and it pisses me off...<br>
<br>
Tape also can not possibly work, because it is put up by all kinds of people for all kinds of reasons. If you follow tapelines regularly, you will be lost regularly, because most of them mark something other than the trail you are one. Like some hunter's spot, some biologist's transect, etcetera.<br>
<br>
Here's an illustrative example. On the Florida Trail, I once had an overnight super rainstorm such that the trail was knee-deep and more in rainwater. I followed some tape and ended up on a bombing range next to a tank. Luckily they didn't actually shoot while I was there. When you follow tape you just don't know where you're going...<br>
<br>
I personally like the part of your idea that hikers should occasionally improve the trail, and I like the part of your idea that the trail occasionally needs better marking. But I despise the idea that every moment of my hike I will be looking at plastic tape...<br>
<br>
Others are also offering their opinions, which is the purpose of this community...<br>
<br>
So please reconsider the offense you've apparently taken.<br>
<span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><br>
Dan Bedore<br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br></div>