One Beautiful Blaze At A Time

 A white 2 x 6 inch AT blaze

(Photo by Merlot)

Probably one of the most common questions I get out on the trail, both from hikers and folks new to trail maintenance is: "How do all those blazes get on the trees?" Other variations: "Who paints all those blazes?" and "How do you paint blazes?"  Well, there's a one-word answer to all of the above:

  Fran

For the last 15 years or so at least, Fran has been solely in charge of painting all of the white blazes on the Rockfish to Reeds section of AT and also the blue blazes on the side trails (Jack Albright) and the AT access trails ..... the one from Humpback Picnic, the one from the Humpback Rocks sign, Howardsville Turnpike, the old AT that is now blue-blazed after being relocated, and probably a couple of others that I've forgotten.  Fran took on the daunting job of blazing shortly after becoming the Trail Supervisor for the Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club (a position she held for 16 years until the end of 2010) when she noticed that different people painted the blazes in different ways and despite the 'official' blaze size of 2" x 6", some blazes were longer, shorter, fatter or skinnier than the standard. As Trail Supervisor, Fran set high standards for trail maintenance so it was no surprise that her goal was (and still is) to have beautiful, as perfect-as-possible blazes on every single tree. 

The search began for the very best method to paint great blazes .... there are lots of ways people do it (templates, spray paint, brushes), but Fran finally found a method that worked for her and resulted in consistent, quality blazes .... tree after tree. This is no small feat considering all of the different tree types and their various bark textures and it seems the majority of trees where blazes are needed rarely turn out to be the ones with very smooth bark.  In addition to 'the method', Fran has had many wonderful assistants over the years to help her with the painting. Usually, the assistants do the tree preparation/scraping and help carry supplies while Fran does most of the painting; however, once trained on her blaze painting method, if you demonstrate that you are very careful and very neat, you will be rewarded with what most of us consider to be the privilege and honor of actually 'wielding a sponge' and painting the blazes along with Fran.

Fifteen plus years of blazing (and still going strong!) has resulted in a lot of 'history' and many adventures such as a particularly spectacular paint spill that was half on the Visitor's Center parking lot with the rest in a puddle in the back of Fran's car! For several years after, we always thought of that paint-blotched parking spot as "Fran's" and left that spot for her car on work trips until the paint finally wore off.  Over the years, countless numbers of hikers have stopped to chat with Fran or ask questions when they've come across her out on a blaze painting trip. Some of those encounters have resulted in wonderful stories like this one that I heard for the first time at the Visitor's Center after a recent work trip:

 A thru-hiker stopped by with a request as Fran was painting blazes. It seems he had been previously diagnosed with cancer and after treatment, upon receiving an 'all-clear' from his doctor, he was treating himself to a thru-hike on the AT. His request? He wanted Fran to paint one of those beautiful white AT blazes on the back of his pack and of course, she cheerfully obliged!

Some blazing facts/trivia:

• The Rockfish to Reeds section of AT is 19.1 miles long. Since blazes must be seen going both north and south, that amounts to a total of 38.2 miles of blazes (without the blue-blaze mileage added in).
• It takes Fran a 3-year cycle to paint all the blazes, both white and blue. When she finishes, the cycle starts all over again. Repainting a blaze every three years seems to be the right amount of time to keep them fresh and bright.
• The 'blue' for the blue blazes can't be just any old blue. Too light and folks mistake it for a white blaze ..... too dark, and it is hard to see against dark tree bark, in low light or if hiking at night (from past personal experience hiking elsewhere in Virginia, 'navy' blue is not a good blaze color!). One year, the blue used was 'Honolulu Blue' - loved the name, but it turned out to be a little too light and was subsequently replaced with a darker, brighter blue. For a 'good' blue that really shows up, see the last photo.

To see just how all the Rockfish to Reeds AT blazes happen, Fran's blazing process was documented in the photos below on a recent work trip:

Fran's special 'paint clothes' .... if she's painting blazes, she's wearing these clothes!

(Photo: Merlot)

The equipment: a specially designed paint tray loaded with paint, a sponge the proper width and exactly half the height of an AT blaze, a sponge paint 'brush', a paint scraper, plus a trusted assistant.

Scraping old paint and loose bark off an old blaze that needs to be repainted.

Left: Painting the top half of the blaze with the 2" x 3" sponge.

Right: Painting the bottom half of the blaze.

Left: Touching up the blaze with a sponge 'brush'. The process minimizes drips and runs, but any that occur are carefully corrected.

Right: The finished product!

 

Fran also paints the blue-blaze trails off of the Rockfish to Reeds section of AT - here are freshly painted blazes at the beginning of the AT access trail in the Humpback Picnic Area. (Photo:Merlot)

 

 

Fran most often signs off on e-mails and correspondence with the phrase "Happy Trails" and she has certainly done her part to make the Rockfish to Reeds section of AT a 'Happy Trail' for everyone, one beautiful blaze at a time.

 

Thank you, Fran!

Photo Credit: All photos by Dave W. unless otherwise noted.