trail marking

["Cindy Filmore" <bcfarm@vianet.on.ca>]

Ooo Eeee!
Trailmarking I know about! 
Actually, we started CTR by running a ride, so we just followed the rules
we were given. Here's how it works in OCTRA :
One roll of trailmarking tape = 300 ft.
It takes about 3 ft of tape for every 100 ft. of trail.
Red = right turns
Blue = left turns
White = you are going the right way!!!
A 50 mile ride (no loops) would take 24 rolls of white tape, 5 red, and 5
blue.
30 miles, rode on 2 - 15 miles loops took us 15 white, 3 red and 3 blue.
25 miles of trail would take 12 white, 3 red, 3 blue
35 miles : 18 white, 4 red, 4 blue

We followed the lead of a great pair  :)  and tied 3 ft of ribbon to a
clothes pin, 
then clipped the clothes pins to tree branches at the desired height.
1 white ribbon + 1 coloured ribbon signified an up-coming turn,  it took 2
colored
ribbons for each turn (i.e. as you are turning), and used yellow marking
tape to 
'close off' wrong trails (right across the trails, from tree to
tree).(also, yellow triangles
clipped to trees in case anyone rode right through)
This left us enough markers to re-do sections of the trail where ribbons
were 
removed , and the trail was marked well enough that no-one got lost (well,
okay,
the radio crew did, but only for a moment).(and, yeah, some joker did go
around
taking down our ribbons, but you kind of expect that, too)
White ribbons were placed so that you could always spot the next ribbon
from the
former (some places, every 50 ft., some every 100, etc.).

I thought everyone did it this way.Ignorance is bliss!
Cindy
Beaver Creek Farm