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Rant: The trail marker system on the Northville-Placid Trail is a total mess right now
What should have been a 30-minute map check turned into a 4-hour bushwhack after we followed a series of faded blue blazes that just dead-ended in a swamp near Long Lake.
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dylan4635mo ago
Yeah that "map showed left but the last blaze pointed right" bit is exactly what happened to me near Duck Hole last year.
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quinncoleman6mo ago
That "dead-ended in a swamp" line hits way too close to home. I once spent an entire afternoon following what I swore were official blazes, only to realize I was just tracking some weird moss pattern on the trees. My own personal trail of tears, literally. How recent was your trip? I'm wondering if it's worth trying to report the bad section to any trail groups.
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harperp246mo ago
Is it really that bad or did you just miss a turn? I've hiked sections of the NPT and the markers are old but mostly fine. A four hour bushwhack sounds like a map and compass failure, not just some faded paint. Did you check your actual location before following blazes into a swamp? Sometimes people blame the trail for their own bad choices.
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victor_hill446mo ago
Yeah but that's the whole problem, the markers AREN'T mostly fine in some spots. I was there last month and whole trees with blazes have fallen over. You follow what's left and it just stops. @quinncoleman gets it, it's easy to get fooled. My map showed the trail bending left but the last visible blaze pointed right into thick brush. I chose the blaze and paid for it. When a trail needs that much second-guessing, it's not just the hiker's fault.
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