Talk:Trail blazing

Merge of Waymarking here
Article merged: See old talk-page talk:Waymarking

Trail blaze symbols
The article includes this image: with the caption: "The most common symbols used in trail blazing." But in years of hiking I can't ever remember having seen them, so they're presumably common only in particular countries or areas. So, where in the world are these symbols used? --David Edgar (talk) 16:19, 27 March 2009 (UTC)


 * They're common in the US, it should say. They were developed for the Appalachian Trail and emulated elsewhere in the country. Daniel Case (talk) 20:28, 27 March 2009 (UTC)


 * I am removing the marker. Please provide examples of other symbols that are used. Dpetzold (talk) 00:26, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

Sources, History
I would like to see both more sources on trailblazing in this article and more on historical trailblazing on the frontier. Ibinthinkin (talk) 03:56, 7 February 2010 (UTC)


 * So would I. Do you know where we can find some? Daniel Case (talk) 19:51, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

Generally
A lot of great info in this article, almost too much. At times it reads like a how to rather than an encyclopedia article ("avoid using earth tones"), and some of the very specific information on countries in eastern Europe seems unncessary (some of it irrelevant like how many miles of trails are in the Czech Republic). Any more thoughts? MDuchek (talk) 18:09, 21 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes, it's been one of those things that people have just coatracked. We should clean it up. Daniel Case (talk) 14:11, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

I took a crack at this. I cut down on a lot of the very specific examples, did some other reorganization, etc... I think examples are good to illustrate points, but this article isn't designed to catalog what every country or trail is doing and some of the information was way over the line as far as being way too specific. Also, previous authors largely discussed the subject in terms of country as if things are standardized. In the United States, trail blazing may be standardized of course across a particular trail or park (that's the whole point), but generally there are not established legal standards by state or nationwide. Maybe this is different in Europe (is it???), and if so it's worth stating that the entire country uses a standardized set of trail markers and if so who sets the standards, where they are used, etc... Otherwise these are just examples and are not as necessary. Likewise, there are a ton of images in this article. It's nice to have them to illustrate the point, but they really dominate the article and again I'm not sure it's helpful or necessary to have so many country-specific images, especially in the gallery. I removed one image and tried to keep it balanced, but I think one could do more. Please review and share any criticism. MDuchek (talk) 17:26, 22 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Also, I'd note that the gallery is full of images that aren't really examples of trail blazes, but are more directional signs or signs used to indicate distance to a particular point. It almost doesn't need to be said that signs are important for trail navigation, but this article is about trail blazing more specifically and so I think these sign photos are arguably not relevant to the article, but I've left them for now for others to judge. MDuchek (talk) 17:30, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

Re trail blazing and way marking
Are the terms blaze and way mark synonymous? The New Oxford American Dictionary defines blaze, as "a mark made on a tree by cutting the bark so as to mark a route". As it can also mean a mark on an animal's face, I'm presuming that the term has been expanded to include paint marks on trees and rocks -- as well as other markers and flagging. But does the term include cairns or similar way marks? If not then way marking would seem to be the more inclusive term and any merge should be into that article. It also strikes me that cairns may, in some places, also be day marks. A major problem here is the lack of citations. Rwood128 (talk) 14:00, 7 August 2014 (UTC)


 * I've edited both articles and added some citations to try and make things clearer. Rwood128 (talk) 15:02, 7 August 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the edits. As to the name, the question would be which term is more common. In the U.S., all this, including cairns and tape flags, is called blazing regardless of how limiting the NOAD definition is. I have never heard anyone call it waymarking. You're right about the lack of refs being a problem—I wrote most of this back when we were less fanatic about sourcing stuff than we are now. And I haven't had the chance to go back and look up references since. So, if you can find some, by all means go ahead. Daniel Case (talk) 09:53, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

Many thanks for clarifying things. It might be better if the article was called trail marking, which is also used in North America, as well as being is closer to what is used in other parts of the world than trail blazing. Some quick research reveals, "sign marking" and direction marker", for Australia, and for New Zealand "track marker". All I could find for South Africa was the GPS term waypoint, which is interesting. Indeed there should be some reference to this new method of route marking in the article. Rwood128 (talk) 12:11, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

Proposal to rename this article, Trail marking
I propose that this article be renamed Trail marker, as this term, or a similar term, is used in various English speaking countries, including the US, while trail blazing is more a North American term. Rwood128 (talk) 23:15, 29 August 2014 (UTC)
 * "Trail marker" refers to the things put on trees (some examples of which are in the article), at least to me. I don't see any real reason to rename the article (per WP:NC: "The title of an article on a topic that has strong ties to a particular English-speaking nation should use the variety of English appropriate for that nation ... Otherwise, all national varieties of English are acceptable in article titles; Wikipedia does not prefer any national variety over any other."). As long as there are all the appropriate redirects and they are acknowledged in the lede per the principle of least astonishment, the actual title shouldn't matter. Daniel Case (talk) 00:45, 30 August 2014 (UTC)

That sounds reasonable and I withdraw my proposal. Rwood128 (talk) 11:54, 30 August 2014 (UTC)


 * The above should read "I withdraw my proposal to rename the article" -- the merge should go ahead and the merge banners should be restored. Sufficient time has passed and there have been no objections. Rwood128 (talk) 16:44, 30 August 2014 (UTC)

Are cairns trail blazes?
Re the merge and cairns: I'm now again having doubts that the term trail blaze can refer to cairns and crosses. I think that I misread the following Appalachian Trail page,. Cairns and crosses are way marks (British usage), as far as I'm aware, and trail markers clearly (In the sense that they mark a trail. Though see Daniel Case's comment). I also followed Daniel Case, 8 August, above, that cairns are blazes now in current US usage. To clarify a citation is needed. Rwood128 (talk) 13:19, 1 September 2014 (UTC)

"Waymarking.com" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect Waymarking.com. Please participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. MB 03:40, 2 September 2019 (UTC)