Easy Way to Leave Important Information Along the Trail for Other Riders?

[SCM1959]

As a frequent trail rider, I have often wondered if there might be a way to leave some sort of sign or note or ??? along the trails to warn other riders of an upcoming danger.

Today while riding with friends, we met up with three other riders going in the opposite direction. As we all moved this way and that along the edge of the trail so that we could pass each other, one of the other riders asked where we were heading. He then told us that there was a very angry swarm of bees up ahead if we took a certain trail. We were so glad that we had stopped and chatted with these riders as last year, my friend and I were attacked viciously and we still don’t know how we made it out alive … we can only thank our incredible horses who stoically endured dozens of stings and did not panic.

As we rode along, taking a different route back to the trailers (!), we got talking about what we could do to alert other riders of things like bees. Our worst trouble in our area are the “ground bees” that live in a hole in the ground. The vibration from the horses’ feet sends the bees into an attacking frenzy and it becomes very dangerous, very fast.

Has anyone done something like this? I wondered about making up some laminated cards with holes poked into the corners. We could hang them from a tree with hay string, after writing on them with a permanent marker. I could carry them in a small pack on my saddle.

Of course, this would require venturing back to the danger zone to hang up the warning card … hmmm.

That bee infested trail was exactly the way we had planned to go! Thank goodness we met up with those other riders.

SCM1959

[JeanM]

I love this idea… But, whatever the means of communication, it needs to specify the date & perhaps the time (depending on what the “issue” may be). And, who will go back and remove the notice when it’s no longer needed?

[ehwaz]

Bees are a tricky one because you don’t want to go back after you have discovered them. In the areas I ride- fairly remote national parks, logging land and some ranchland, local etiquette is to carry some caution tape with you and hang it from a branch on either side of the hazard after you see it. We will stick a stick in a hole and tie tape to the top. The areas are not high traffic- mostly only serious distance hikers and endurance riders, so the ribbons generally stay up .

[cowboymom]

That’s a good question, we don’t have a real protocol… I know in the past we’ve blocked a trail with underbrush and carved a ! in the trail… or arrows… or found something to write on, or made a blaze with a rock/log… but not everyone knows how to read that either. I always have a little paper notebook and sharpie in my saddle bags along with a leatherman in my pocket so I could leave a bill board if necessary…

[SanJacMonument]

Is there a place in the parking area to post notes? If not, it would be a nice project to build a bulletin board for trail notes such as bees, trail wash-outs, work weekends, etc.