The hiker who thought trail blazes were a treasure map

I was guiding a group on the Blue Loop and this guy was sure every painted marker was a clue to hidden loot. He even had a notebook, comparing them to a pirate book his kid reads. We had to tell him they're just for navigation, but he looked so disappointed. The whole thing was pretty funny, to be honest.

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4 Comments

nancyjones6mo ago

Always tell newbies what the blazes mean before you start. Saves everyone time. Maybe he should check the guidebook next time.

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the_tyler6mo ago

Why not just tell newbies what the blazes mean?

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robert_cooper6mo ago

Tyler's right about just telling them. It's not like blazes are some secret code for the cool kids club. You just point at a tree and say "red means this trail, blue means that way." Instead we act like it's ancient wisdom passed down by forest wizards. Next we'll be making them memorize bird calls to find the parking lot.

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logan_wells6mo ago

Guidebook? What's that, some kind of ancient artifact?

3