Trail Marking

[boneaddict]

Those equating trailcams to litter.       
stick a beer bottle on a branch....afterall it must have had a use and it isnt your property. 

A wilderness area isnt supposed to be cluttered with marking tape.  Has anyone heard of no trace.   Yowzhers.   Ill stop before .........


If you are uncomfortable about where you are going, Id suggest GPS, but for the life of me I wouldnt depend on it.   Basic woodsman skills need to be learned before adventuring beyond ones skill level.   Its smart to know your limitations.   Mother nature is not forgiving.

[Karl Blanchard]

Those equating trailcams to litter.       
stick a beer bottle on a branch....afterall it must have had a use and it isnt your property. 

A wilderness area isnt supposed to be cluttered with marking tape.  Has anyone heard of no trace.   Yowzhers.   Ill stop before .........


If you are uncomfortable about where you are going, Id suggest GPS, but for the life of me I wouldnt depend on it.   Basic woodsman skills need to be learned before adventuring beyond ones skill level.   Its smart to know your limitations.   Mother nature is not forgiving.

beat me to it Doug

[Stein]

I don't equate a trailcam to litter, nor do I consider marking a kill site or route to there with trail tape litter.  Seems that people tend to consider what they do right and just on both sides.

If you are leaving no trace, you aren't leaving anything in the woods that wasn't there before you came in.

[MR5x5]

2 compasses just in case batteries fail on one...

[2MANY]

Those equating trailcams to litter.       
stick a beer bottle on a branch....afterall it must have had a use and it isnt your property. 

A wilderness area isnt supposed to be cluttered with marking tape.  Has anyone heard of no trace.   Yowzhers.   Ill stop before .........


If you are uncomfortable about where you are going, Id suggest GPS, but for the life of me I wouldnt depend on it.   Basic woodsman skills need to be learned before adventuring beyond ones skill level.   Its smart to know your limitations.   Mother nature is not forgiving.

beat me to it Doug

The litter in the woods is pathetic these days.
Some people's kids.

[follow maggie]

I think you should start with smaller ventures. If you know how to use a map & compass, there's no need to be leaving tape all over the woods. Orienteering with a map & compass is pretty easy & enjoyable once you learn how, and REI offers free or low cost classes on it. If I cant see landmarks, I use a gps to show where I am & a bearing to where I want to be, then I plot it on the compass & start trekking.

[haugenna]

Fishing reel with as much line it can hold. Tie one pice to a tree by the truck and open the bail. Walk until you are out. Reel yourself back to the truck.

I am joking but I bet it has been done

My suggestion is to pick a route you want to take, a hunting loop, and walk it a few times with tape before season starts, make some blazes on trees, kick some dirt, top some small undergrowth and it gives you some reference points. Kicking through rotten logs is a good marker.  Remove tape.

[captpschar]

I think you should start with smaller ventures. If you know how to use a map & compass, there's no need to be leaving tape all over the woods. Orienteering with a map & compass is pretty easy & enjoyable once you learn how, and REI offers free or low cost classes on it. If I cant see landmarks, I use a gps to show where I am & a bearing to where I want to be, then I plot it on the compass & start trekking.

I've found that a compass does not help me find the exact beginning and turns to the passable route that allowed me to find my way over a dangerous and wooded rocky pass.  For me, setting a small cairn at the end of the safe route that got me into a basin helps me find the safe way back out of it.  Knowing that the safe pass that doesn't lead to a steep scree or a cliff is to the east doesn't help me. 

How do you use the compass to solve these kinds of problems?

[captpschar]

Fishing reel with as much line it can hold. Tie one pice to a tree by the truck and open the bail. Walk until you are out. Reel yourself back to the truck.

I am joking but I bet it has been done

My suggestion is to pick a route you want to take, a hunting loop, and walk it a few times with tape before season starts, make some blazes on trees, kick some dirt, top some small undergrowth and it gives you some reference points. Kicking through rotten logs is a good marker.  Remove tape.

Hey that's something, kicking a hole in a rotten log.   How about that.

[hunter399]

Landmarks,then more landmarks,and more landmarks.
Once you realize anything can be a landmark reading maps without a compass becomes so much better.stack some rocks on each other .put sticks on the ground in the shape of a arrow pointing the direction of main trail.But when you look at some terrain on maps landmarks will start jump at you streams ,gullys ,ridge tops,roads,mountain tops etc.Then the same area with a satellite view you will see landmarks trust me.

[haugenna]

Fishing reel with as much line it can hold. Tie one pice to a tree by the truck and open the bail. Walk until you are out. Reel yourself back to the truck.

I am joking but I bet it has been done

My suggestion is to pick a route you want to take, a hunting loop, and walk it a few times with tape before season starts, make some blazes on trees, kick some dirt, top some small undergrowth and it gives you some reference points. Kicking through rotten logs is a good marker.  Remove tape.

Hey that's something, kicking a hole in a rotten log.   How about that.

I am referring to a rotten log/limb lying flat on the ground, kicking the top off it making a U and a marker that doesn’t stick out like tape

[Crunchy]

Most good trails are not easily seen therefore I do not mark with anything obvious. 

[follow maggie]

I think you should start with smaller ventures. If you know how to use a map & compass, there's no need to be leaving tape all over the woods. Orienteering with a map & compass is pretty easy & enjoyable once you learn how, and REI offers free or low cost classes on it. If I cant see landmarks, I use a gps to show where I am & a bearing to where I want to be, then I plot it on the compass & start trekking.

 
I've found that a compass does not help me find the exact beginning and turns to the passable route that allowed me to find my way over a dangerous and wooded rocky pass.  For me, setting a small cairn at the end of the safe route that got me into a basin helps me find the safe way back out of it.  Knowing that the safe pass that doesn't lead to a steep scree or a cliff is to the east doesn't help me. 

How do you use the compass to solve these kinds of problems?

I always have a map- usgs & green trails are good. When I figure where I am and where I want to be I plot it on the map & study it about 10 minutes while I drink some water or have a snack. I carry the map in the front & look at it when I have to go around some obstacle

[bkaech]

If you are in Western Washington and Not going into a national park or wilderness area then just start walking. If you get lost, go down hill or in a set direction....You'll come to a road eventually, usually withing a 1/2 mile. It might be 20miles on the road to get back to your rig, but you won't die.... just start walking and you will figure it out.

[fishngamereaper]

I flag blood trails and kill sites. Makes navigation quicker especially in the thick or in the dark when I'm packing, or when I'm expecting help so they can find me. I do remove it when I'm done. For me I guess if I see old flag tape I assume it has a purpose. If I see new flag tape I still assume it has a purpose. If someone didnt remove their own trail tape its on them.