Just spent an hour arguing with a guy who tried to mark a trail with pink ribbon in a national forest

I was hiking the Bull Run Loop up near Mt. Hood last weekend and saw this older dude tying pink surveyor tape to branches at every fork. I told him that stuff fades and disintegrates fast, plus it looks like trash out there. He got defensive and said he's been doing it for 10 years. Come on, use some proper diamond markers or cairns like everyone else. Has anyone else run into people using random ribbon on actual routes?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamie77029d ago

Used to roll my eyes at people who complained about trail markers, till I spent two hours lost on a poorly marked loop in the Sierras because someone’s ribbon had completely rotted away. What kind of tape was he using, the cheap flimsy stuff or the thicker plastic kind?

smith.anna28d ago

Think you're mixing up trail tape with flagging tape, that stuff's meant to be temporary.

phoenix_grant3428d ago

That older guy probably means well but yeah, pink tape in a national forest is a bad look. @smith.anna is right though, there's a difference in tape types, but even the thick stuff breaks down after a season or two out there. In my experience, what worked way better was carrying a small pouch of trail tacks with me, the metal kind you hammer into trees or poles, and just putting one up at confusing forks if I'm scouting a new route. Those last for years and don't look like litter. Your mileage may vary on that, but it's saved me from getting turned around more than once.

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