[pct-l] Trail Markings

[kdpo at gottawalk.com (Ken Powers)]

 I agree with Bob and want to add that if your really want a challenge I 
have a relatively short portion of the ADT that is guaranteed to get you 
LOST. In my opinion it is tougher than any stretch of the CDT.

Ken
...GottaWalk
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Bankhead" <wandering_bob@comcast.net>
To: "PCT MailingList" <pct-l@backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, November 14, 2005 12:08 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Trail Markings


>I guess it boils down to this: do you want a guided tour, a total 
>wilderness bushwack, or something inbetween?
>
> IMO, no one belongs out in the woods without a compass, up-to-date topo 
> map(s) of the area, and the skills to use them properly. A GPS is a handy 
> tool if you know how to use it AND the map together, but is it wise to 
> trust your life to something that runs on batteries? Maps also can be a 
> life-saver if a situation forces you to bail out quickly (where's the 
> nearest road and where does it go?)
>
> It is your responsibility, not the government's, to keep track of where 
> you are relative to where you want to be or have just been. Yes, the PCT 
> is pretty easy to follow in most places - after the snow has gone. 
> However, there are many spots where it does get overgrown by grass or 
> brush, crosses large areas of flat rock, gets physically ravaged by the 
> forces of nature, or criss-crossed with stock trails and ORV tracks that 
> weren't there when the map or guidebook were prepared. Not every junction 
> is signed - some deliberately, others thanks to vandals who remove, 
> deface, alter, or otherwise damage the signs. I have noticed recently that 
> Bubba and his beer-swilling shotgunning friends seem to love the new brown 
> fiberglass slat signs in use by many NFS districts. Oh, and then there are 
> those spots where, for whatever reason, you make a deliberate detour - 
> either a scenic alternate trail, a peak to be bagged, a "brief" search for 
> that elusive easier stream crossing, spring, campsite, viewpoint, etc.
>
> Those beloved PCT trail markers nailed to trailside trees are becoming 
> more scarce - thanks in part to souvenier hunters. Many's the time I have 
> wandered long down the trail, glancing at my map and/or guidebook trail 
> description and praying that this was indeed the PCT and not some wannabe 
> onto which I had ventured by having foolishly missed the sign at the last 
> (and often very obscure) trail junction because I was watching the trail 
> at my feet whilst hiking uphill with my head down. Great was my relief 
> upon sighting that green and white marker confirming that all was well.
>
> If you want a guided tour, that's fine; sign up for one, or stick to the 
> many trails in your local park or forest preserve.
> For slightly less signage: take the AT and learn to love white blazes
> Even less signage: take the PCT
> And even less: take the CDT
>
>
> Wandering Bob
>
>
>
>
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