Appreciation post: found an old trail marker near Lake Tahoe last month

I was hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail last month and found this faded wooden marker from the 1980s still standing in a thicket. It made me realize how much work goes into keeping these routes clear, even when nobody's watching. Has anyone else stumbled across old trail infrastructure that made you stop and think?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabetha929d ago

omg my buddy found an old trail sign near Shasta that was basically just a rusted nail holding a piece of wood with an arrow carved into it. he said it was the coolest thing ever, like finding a secret message from some hiker from way back when.

hugobarnes10d ago

Oh man, I stumbled across an old wooden snow pole marker up near Muir Pass a few years back. It was one of those things that seemed totally out of place but also exactly right. The thing was half buried in gravel, but the paint was still visible, and it just made me stop and appreciate the people who put it there before GPS was a thing. It really hit me how those guys had to haul materials for miles just so hikers wouldn't get lost in a whiteout. That marker probably saved someone's life once, and now it's just a relic getting weathered away. Made the whole hike feel a little more meaningful.

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