Signing (continued)

Cairns are used in open areas where low visibility or snow cover makes following the tread difficult or where the tread is rocky and indistinct. Two or three stones piled one on top of the other, "rock ducks," are no substitute for cairns and should be scattered at every opportunity. Cairns are similar in construction to rock crib and consist of circular tiers of stones (Figure 71).

Figure 71—Two- or three-stone "rock ducks" are
not a substitute for cairns and should not be built.

Make the base wide enough to provide enough batter for stability. In really deep snow country, it might be necessary to add a long guide pole in the center as the cairn is built. An anchored pipe can be built into the center of the cairn so a pole can be replaced or removed each summer.

Cairns should be spaced closely enough that during typical episodes of poor visibility (such as dense fog) the next cairn is visible in either direction from any given cairn. Cairns should be placed on small rises (not in swales). If cairns are used in areas of large talus, use a 2-m (6.5-ft) guide pole in the center to differentiate the cairn from adjacent piles of rock. The best time to decide where to place cairns is during a day with poor visibility.

Guide poles are used in settings similar to cairns. They are most useful in snowfield crossings to keep traffic in the vicinity of the buried tread. Guide poles should be long enough to extend about 2 m (6.5 ft) above the top of the snowpack during the typical use season. Guide poles should be at least 100 mm (4 in) in diameter. They should be sturdy enough to withstand early season storms before the snow can support them and to withstand pressures from snow creep later in the season. Avoid placing guide poles in avalanche paths. Don't mark trails for winter travel if they cross known avalanche paths.

Guide poles are also used in large meadows where tall grasses make cairns hard to spot, or where there is too little stone for cairns.

Sign and Marker Maintenance

Sign maintenance consists of remounting loose or fallen signs, repairing or replacing signs, and resetting or replacing leaning, damaged, rotting, or missing posts.

If the sign is missing, a replacement sign should be ordered and installed. Check out the probable cause of the loss. If it was theft, consider using theft-resistant hardware to mount the replacement. If the sign was eaten by wildlife, look at less palatable materials. If the weather or natural events munched the sign, consider stronger materials, a different location, or an alternate strategy for mounting.

For signs mounted on trees, you may need to loosen the lag screws slightly to give the tree growing room. If the sign is on a post, check to make sure that it is snugly attached. Replace rotting posts. Don't just try to get through "one more season."

Check with your manager for guidelines when signs should be replaced due to bullet holes, chipped paint, missing or illegible letters, incorrect information, cracked boards, splintered mounting holes, or missing pieces. At each candidate sign, consider the consequences of not repairing or replacing deficient signing. Take some photos to help portray the situation.

Cut blazes may, on rare occasions, need to be "freshened." If a blaze has "healed" to the point where it doesn't resemble an official blaze, it may be carefully recut.

Blazers and marker tags should be checked for continued usefulness. If the tread is more obvious than when these markers were originally installed, consider removing some. If folks are getting lost, restore more visible tread, move existing reassurance markers to more visible locations, or add a few markers where they will be most effective.

Remove all signing and reassurance marking that doesn't fit the plan for the area.

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