1.
Trail
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A trail is usually a path, track or unpaved lane or road, though the term is also applied, in North America, to routes along rivers, and sometimes to highways. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland path or footpath is the term for a walking trail. There are also unpaved trails used by dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles, in some places, like the Alps, trails are used for moving cattle and other livestock. In the US, the term was used for a route into or through wild territory used by emigrants. In Australia, the track can be used interchangeably with trail. Walkway is used similarly in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada, in the United Kingdom, the term trail is in common usage. Longer distance walking routes, and government-promoted long distance paths, collectively known as National Trails, are frequently called ways, as in the Pennine Way. Generally the term footpath is preferred for pedestrian routes, including long distance trails, track is used for wider paths, often used for hiking. The terms bridleway, byway, restricted byway are all recognised legal terms, the increased popularity of mountain biking has led to a proliferation of mountain bike trails in many countries. Often these will be grouped to form complexes, known as trail centers. A particularly unusual use of the term is in the Canadian province of Alberta, Shared use may be achieved by sharing a trail easement, but within it maintaining segregated and sometimes also separated trail treads. This is common in rail trails, Shared use may also refer to alternate day arrangements, whereby two uses are segregated by being permitted on alternate days. The Trans Canada Trail can be used by hikers, walkers, cyclists, horseback riders, the network makes use of towpaths on river banks and disused railway or vicinal tramway lines. Old railway lines have been leased by the Walloon Government for 99 years using emphyteutic lease contracts, where necessary, new paths are created to link parts of the network. Thus the right to cycle exists even though it may be difficult to exercise on occasion, Cyclists using a bridleway are obliged to give way to other users on foot or horseback. The seawall in Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada is popular for walking, running, cycling, there are two paths, one for skaters and cyclists and the other for pedestrians. The lane for cyclists and skaters goes one-way in a counterclockwise loop, foreshoreway is a term used in Australia for a type of greenway that provides a public right-of-way along the edge of the sea open to both walkers and cyclists. A forest road is a type of access road, built mainly for the forest industry
2.
Bridle path
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A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, bridle road, or horse trail, is a path, trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a range of users, including equestrians, hikers. Such paths are either impassable for motorized vehicles, or vehicles are banned, the laws relating to allowable uses vary from country to country. In industrialized countries, bridle paths are now used for recreation. However, they are important transportation routes in other areas. For example, they are the method of traveling to mountain villages in Lesotho. However, In England and Wales a bridle path now refers to a route which can be used by horse riders in addition to walkers. The term bridleway is rarely used in the U. S, most of the time horses are presumed allowed to use trails in America unless specifically banned, although rules differ among locations. Rail trails can often be used by equestrians, thus the right to cycle exists even though it may be difficult to exercise on occasion, especially in winter. Cyclists using a bridleway are obliged to give way to other users on foot or horseback. A number of long distance multi-use trails have created in England, including three National Trails, the Pennine Bridleway,192 km, The Ridgeway,139 km. In Scotland there is no distinction between footpaths and bridleways, though it is generally accepted that horse riders and cyclists may follow rights of way with suitable surfaces. Often, horses under saddle are subject to the regulations as pedestrians or hikers where those requirements differ from those for cyclists. For example, horses are allowed on the American Discovery Trail, which crosses the country, access to trails and pathways on private land is generally left to the discretion of the landowner, subject to the general trespass laws of each of the 50 states. Rail trails/paths are shared-use paths that make use of abandoned railway corridors and they can be used for walking, cycling, and often horse riding as well. The following description comes from Australia, but is equally to other rail trails that exist throughout the world. Following the route of the railways, they cut through hills, under roads, over embankments and across gullies, apart from being great places to walk, cycle or horse ride, rail trails are linear conservation corridors protecting native plants and animals. They often link remnant vegetation in farming areas and contain valuable flora, wineries and other attractions are near many trails as well as B&Bs and other great places to stay
3.
Mountain biking
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Mountain biking is the sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability, Mountain biking can generally be broken down into multiple categories, cross country, trail riding, all mountain, downhill, freeride and dirt jumping. However, the majority of mountain biking falls into the categories of Trail and this individual sport requires endurance, core strength and balance, bike handling skills, and self-reliance. Advanced riders pursue both steep technical descents and high incline climbs, in the case of freeriding, downhilling, and dirt jumping, aerial manoeuvres are performed off both natural features and specially constructed jumps and ramps. Mountain biking can be performed almost anywhere from a yard to a gravel road. There are aspects of mountain biking that are similar to trail running than regular bicycling. Because riders are often far from civilization, there is an ethic of self-reliance in the sport. Riders learn to repair their broken bikes or flat tires to avoid being stranded miles from help, club rides and other forms of group rides are common, especially on longer treks. A combination sport named mountain bike orienteering adds the skill of map navigation to mountain biking, one of the first examples of bicycles modified specifically for off-road use is the expedition of Buffalo Soldiers from Missoula, Montana to Yellowstone in August 1896. The Swiss military had its first bike regiment in 1891, bicycles were ridden off-road by road racing cyclists who used cyclo-cross as a means of keeping fit during the winter. Cyclo-cross eventually became a sport in its own right in the 1940s, the Rough Stuff Fellowship was established in 1955 by off-road cyclists in the United Kingdom. In Oregon, one Chemeketan club member, D. Gwynn and he named it a mountain bicycle for its intended place of use. This may be the first use of that name, in England in 1968, Geoff Apps, a motorbike trials rider, began experimenting with off-road bicycle designs. By 1979 he had developed a custom built lightweight bicycle which was suited to the wet. They were designed around 2 inch x 650b Nokian snow tyres though a 700x47c version was also produced and these were sold under the Cleland Cycles brand until late 1984. Bikes based on the Cleland design were sold by English Cycles. There were several groups of riders in different areas of the U. S. A. who can make valid claims to playing a part in the birth of the sport. Riders in Crested Butte, Colorado and Cupertino, California tinkered with bikes, at the time, there were no mountain bikes
4.
Dornbirn
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Dornbirn is a city in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is the centre for the district of Dornbirn, which also includes the town of Hohenems. Dornbirn is the largest city in Vorarlberg and the tenth largest in Austria and it is an important commercial and shopping centre. It is near the borders to Switzerland, Germany and Liechtenstein, the Dornbirner Ach river flows through the town and later into Lake Constance. Dornbirn once consisted only of 4 quarters, Markt, Hatlerdorf, Oberdorf, by the 20th century Dornbirn had annexed two formerly independent communities to the west, Rohrbach and Schoren, thus bringing the total number of districts to 6. The Town of Dornbirn constitutes almost 70% of the surface of the district Dornbirn and has borders to other municipalities. As well as bordering on the two municipalities in the Dornbirn district, the town shares borders with 15 municipalities of the Bregenz District. The earliest evidence of presence in the Dornbirn area can be dated from the Mesolithic era. The name Dornbirn derives from torrin puirron, meaning the Settlement of Torro and thus has nothing to do with pears and this name is mentioned for the first time in 895, in a document from St. Gallen. Dornbirn became part of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1380, in 1793 it was elevated to a market community. It was not given municipal status until 1901, in 1932 the mountain village of Ebnit was annexed. In 1969 Dornbirn became the seat of the new Dornbirn district administrative authority, vorarlbergs regional studio of the ORF is located in Dornbirn. Zumtobel Lighting Group is an ATX traded company based in Dornbirn, many other large companies are situated there. The town was formerly a centre of the textile industry. The A14 Rheintal freeway/motorway passes by to the west, the Achrain tunnel, opened in 2009, directly connects Dornbirn/Haselstauden with the Bregenz Forest - Alberschwende region. The town has an excellent network of municipal buses, dornbirns railway station connects is an important stop for all trains from west to east Austria. A small airport is located at nearby Hohenems, educational institutions in Dornbirn include the Fachhochschule Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences, two General Education Secondary Schools, and a Higher Technical Vocational College. One of the most important sportive institutions in Dornbirn is the RHC Dornbirn, in 2010 it hosted the 2010 Rink Hockey Mens B World Championship
5.
Austria
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Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, the territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2. The terrain is mountainous, lying within the Alps, only 32% of the country is below 500 m. The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene. The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty, from the time of the Reformation, many northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. Following Napoleons defeat, Prussia emerged as Austrias chief competitor for rule of a greater Germany, Austrias defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary, Austria was thus the first to go to war in the July Crisis, which would ultimately escalate into World War I. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919, in 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies, in 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral, today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna, other major urban areas of Austria include Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,724, the country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked 21st in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro currency in 1999. The German name for Austria, Österreich, meant eastern realm in Old High German, and is cognate with the word Ostarrîchi and this word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin Marchia orientalis into a local dialect. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976, the word Austria is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century. Accordingly, Norig would essentially mean the same as Ostarrîchi and Österreich, the Celtic name was eventually Latinised to Noricum after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern-day Austria, around 15 BC. Noricum later became a Roman province in the mid-first century AD, heers hypothesis is not accepted by linguists. Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes, the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was later claimed by the Roman Empire and made a province
6.
Forest of Dean
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The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north-west, Herefordshire to the north, the River Severn to the south. The area is characterised by more than 110 square kilometres of mixed woodland, a large area was reserved for royal hunting before 1066, and remained as the second largest crown forest in England, the largest being New Forest. Although the name is used loosely to refer to the part of Gloucestershire between the Severn and Wye, the Forest of Dean proper has covered a smaller area since medieval times. In 1327 it was defined to only the royal demesne and parts of parishes within the hundred of St Briavels. The Forest proper is within the parishes of West Dean, Lydbrook, Cinderford, Ruspidge. Traditionally the main sources of work have been forestry – including charcoal production - iron working, Archaeological studies have dated the earliest use of coal to Roman times for domestic heating and industrial processes such as the preparation of iron ore. The area gives its name to the government district, Forest of Dean. The administrative centre of the authority is Coleford, one of the main towns in the historic Forest area, together with Cinderford. The Forest of Dean is formed of a basin of palaeozoic rocks folded in the Variscan Orogeny. Its highest point is Ruardean Hill, the origins of the name remains an area of debate. The prevalence of Welsh place names in the area, suggests a possible corruption of Din, however, similar or identical elements from Old English exist throughout England. Giraldus Cambrensis, writing in the century, refers to the area as Danubia which may translate as land of Danes following the Viking settlements in that era. It is possible that an original name Dene developed from this, the area was inhabited in Mesolithic times, and there are also remains of later megalithic monuments, including the Longstone near Staunton and the Broadstone at Wibdon, Stroat. Barrows have been identified at Tidenham and Blakeney, bronze Age field systems have been identified at Welshbury Hill near Littledean, and there are Iron Age hill forts at Symonds Yat and Welshbury. There is archaeological evidence of trading by sea, probably through Lydney. The area was occupied by the Romans around 50 AD and they were attracted by its natural resources which included iron ore, ochre and charcoal. The coal mining industry was established on a small scale in Roman times
7.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
8.
Road
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Roads consist of one or two roadways, each with one or more lanes and any associated sidewalks and road verges. Roads that are available for use by the public may be referred to as parkways, avenues, freeways, interstates, highways, or primary, secondary, and tertiary local roads. In urban areas roads may diverge through a city or village and be named as streets, serving a function as urban space easement. Modern roads are normally smoothed, paved, or otherwise prepared to allow easy travel, historically many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal construction or maintenance. In the United Kingdom there is ambiguity between the terms highway and road. The Highway code details rules for road users and this includes footpaths, bridleways and cycle tracks, and also road and driveways on private land and many car parks. Vehicle Excise Duty, a use tax, is payable on some vehicles used on the public road. The definition of a road depends on the definition of a highway, in the United States, laws distinguish between public roads, which are open to public use, and private roads, which are privately controlled. The assertion that the first pathways were the trails made by animals has not been universally accepted, others believe that some roads originated from following animal trails. The Icknield Way is given as an example of type of road origination. By about 10,000 BC, rough roads/pathways were used by human travelers, the worlds oldest known paved road was constructed in Egypt some time between 2600 and 2200 BC. Stone-paved streets are found in the city of Ur in the Middle East dating back to 4000 BC, corduroy roads are found dating to 4000 BC in Glastonbury, England. The Sweet Track, a timber causeway in England, is one of the oldest engineered roads discovered. Built in winter 3807 BC or spring 3806 BC, tree-ring dating enabled very precise dating and it was claimed to be the oldest road in the world until the 2009 discovery of a 6, 000-year-old trackway in Plumstead, London. Brick-paved streets were used in India as early as 3000 BC, in 500 BC, Darius I the Great started an extensive road system for Persia, including the Royal Road, which was one of the finest highways of its time. The road remained in use after Roman times, a hybrid of road transport and ship transport beginning in about 1740 is the horse-drawn boat in which the horse follows a cleared path along the river bank. From about 312 BC, the Roman Empire built straight strong stone Roman roads throughout Europe and North Africa, at its peak the Roman Empire was connected by 29 major roads moving out from Rome and covering 78,000 kilometers or 52,964 Roman miles of paved roads. In the 8th century AD, many roads were built throughout the Arab Empire, the most sophisticated roads were those in Baghdad, which were paved with tar
9.
Equestrianism
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Equestrianism, more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding, refers to the skill of riding, driving, steeplechasing or vaulting with horses. This broad description includes the use of horses for practical working purposes, transportation, recreational activities, artistic or cultural exercises, Horses are trained and ridden for practical working purposes such as in police work or for controlling herd animals on a ranch. They are also used in sports including, but not limited to, dressage, endurance riding, eventing, reining, show jumping, tent pegging, vaulting, polo, horse racing, driving. Some popular forms of competition are grouped together at horse shows, Horses are used for non-competitive recreational riding such as fox hunting, trail riding or hacking. There is public access to trails in almost every part of the world, many parks, ranches. Horses are also used for therapeutic purposes, both in specialized paraequestrian competition as well as non-competitive riding to improve health and emotional development. Horses are also driven in harness racing, at shows and in other types of exhibition, historical reenactment or ceremony. In some parts of the world, they are used for practical purposes such as farming. Horses continue to be used in service, in traditional ceremonies, police and volunteer mounted patrols. Riding halls enable the training of horse and rider in all weathers as well as indoor competition riding, though there is controversy over the exact date horses were domesticated and when they were first ridden, the best estimate is that horses first were ridden approximately 3500 BC. Indirect evidence suggests that horses were ridden long before they were driven, however, the most unequivocal early archaeological evidence of equines put to working use was of horses being driven. Chariot burials about 2500 BC present the most direct evidence of horses used as working animals. In ancient times chariot warfare was followed by the use of war horses as light, the horse played an important role throughout human history all over the world, both in warfare and in peaceful pursuits such as transportation, trade and agriculture. Horses lived in North America, but died out at the end of the Ice Age, Horses were brought back to North America by European explorers, beginning with the second voyage of Columbus in 1493. Humans appear to have expressed a desire to know which horse were the fastest. Gambling on horse races appears to go hand-in hand with racing and has a history as well. Thoroughbreds have the pre-eminent reputation as a breed, but other breeds also race. Under saddle, Thoroughbred horse racing is the most popular form worldwide, in the UK, it is known as flat racing and is governed by the Jockey Club in the United Kingdom
10.
Motorcycle
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A motorcycle is a two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes, long travel, commuting, cruising, sport including racing. Motorcycling is riding a motorcycle and related social activity such as joining a motorcycle club, in 1894, Hildebrand & Wolfmüller became the first series production motorcycle, and the first to be called a motorcycle. In 2014, the three top motorcycle producers globally by volume were Honda, Yamaha, and Hero MotoCorp, in developing countries, motorcycles are overwhelmingly utilitarian due to lower prices and greater fuel economy. Of all the motorcycles in the world, 58% are in the Asia-Pacific and Southern and Eastern Asia regions, according to the United States Department of Transportation the number of fatalities per vehicle mile traveled was 37 times higher for motorcycles than for cars. The term motorcycle has different legal definitions depending on jurisdiction, there are three major types of motorcycle, street, off-road, and dual purpose. Within these types, there are many sub-types of motorcycles for different purposes, there is often a racing counterpart to each type, such as road racing and street bikes, or motocross and dirt bikes. Street bikes include cruisers, sportbikes, scooters and mopeds, off-road motorcycles include many types designed for dirt-oriented racing classes such as motocross and are not street legal in most areas. Dual purpose machines like the style are made to go off-road but include features to make them legal. Each configuration offers either specialised advantage or broad capability, and each design creates a different riding posture, the first internal combustion, petroleum fueled motorcycle was the Daimler Reitwagen. It was designed and built by the German inventors Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Bad Cannstatt, instead, it relied on two outrigger wheels to remain upright while turning. The inventors called their invention the Reitwagen and it was designed as an expedient testbed for their new engine, rather than a true prototype vehicle. The first commercial design for a cycle was a three-wheel design called the Butler Petrol Cycle. He exhibited his plans for the vehicle at the Stanley Cycle Show in London in 1884, the vehicle was built by the Merryweather Fire Engine company in Greenwich, in 1888. The engine was liquid-cooled, with a radiator over the driving wheel. Speed was controlled by means of a valve lever. No braking system was fitted, the vehicle was stopped by raising and lowering the rear driving wheel using a foot-operated lever, the driver was seated between the front wheels. It wasnt, however, a success, as Butler failed to find sufficient financial backing, many authorities have excluded steam powered, electric motorcycles or diesel-powered two-wheelers from the definition of a motorcycle, and credit the Daimler Reitwagen as the worlds first motorcycle
11.
All-terrain vehicle
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As the name implies, it is designed to handle a wider variety of terrain than most other vehicles. Although it is a vehicle in some countries, it is not street-legal within most states and provinces of Australia. By the current ANSI definition, ATVs are intended for use by an operator, although some companies have developed ATVs intended for use by the operator. These ATVs are referred to as tandem ATVs, the rider sits on and operates these vehicles like a motorcycle, but the extra wheels give more stability at slower speeds. Although equipped with three or four wheels, six-wheel models exist for specialized applications, engine sizes of ATVs currently for sale in the United States, range from 49 to 1,000 cc. Royal Enfield built and sold the first powered quadracycle in 1893. It had many components, including handle bars. The Royal Enfield resembles a modern ATV-style quad bike but was designed as a form of carriage for road use. With the introduction of straddle ridden ATVs, the term AATV was introduced to define the original amphibious ATV category, the first three-wheeled ATV was the Sperry-Rand Tricart. It was designed in 1967 as a project of John Plessinger at the Cranbrook Academy of Arts near Detroit. The Tricart was straddle-ridden with a rather than sit-on style. In 1968 Plessinger sold the Tricart patents and design rights to Sperry-Rand New Holland who manufactured them commercially, numerous small American manufacturers of 3-wheelers followed. I. and Hart to Hart. Dubbed the US90 and later—when Honda acquired the trademark on the term—the ATC90, clearly influenced by earlier ATVs, it featured large balloon tires instead of a mechanical suspension. By the early 1980s, suspension and lower-profile tires were introduced, the 1982 Honda ATC200E Big Red was a landmark model. It featured both suspension and racks, making it the first utility three-wheeled ATV, the ability to go anywhere on terrain that most other vehicles could not cross soon made them popular with US and Canadian hunters, and those just looking for a good trail ride. Soon other manufacturers introduced their own models, sport models were also developed by Honda, which had a virtual monopoly in the market due to effective patents on design and engine placement. The 1981 ATC250R was the first high-performance three-wheeler, featuring full suspension, a 248 cc air cooled engine, a five-speed transmission with manual clutch. For the sporting trail rider, the 1983 ATC200X was another landmark machine and it used an easy-to-handle 192 cc four-stroke that was ideal for new participants in the sport. Today, ATC200Xs can be found on the market in all conditions and prices, in 1985, Honda also introduced the new ATC350X
12.
Trail blazing
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There are three main types of trail blazing, paint, carvings or affixed markers, with paint being the most widely used. A painted marking of a consistent shape or shapes, dimension, the system by which blazes are used to signify turns and endpoints in trails strongly favors the use of paint blazes. European countries usually use systems of painted bars or shapes in more than one colour, the Central European Hiking Markers System pictured above is the most widely used standard. This system use three bars - usually one color in two white bars, with different meanings attached to different colours - in a 10 cm x 10 cm square. Red is often used to mark difficult or summit trails, arrows of similar design signal a change of direction. Austrian and Swiss trails use a system of white and coloured stripes. In the United States and Canada, it is a colour, often white, red. Trails in South Africa are often marked by yellow footprints painted on trees, before using paint on trees, it is sometimes necessary to clean the surface. One of the techniques in the USA is to use a knife or drawknife to smooth the outer bark of trees without penetrating to the inner bark. Since paint introduces small amounts of toxic chemicals into a protected environment. Stencils are often useful, and sash brushes are the preferred type for precise work. Oil-based paint seems to last longer than latex-based and seems to be benign to the bark. Blazes may also be painted on rock surfaces or on posts set into the ground where the trail follows a road or goes through fields. In North America, Australia and New Zealand, there are trails blazed by cuts made in bark by axe or knife, most often these are informal routes made by loggers or hunters, or trails descended from those routes. Originally a tree would be blazed by hatchet chops but today other methods have more common, with environmental. Other navigational aids, such as cairns, are used where blazes are unsuitable, alternatively, plastic, metal or even sometimes wooden markers may be affixed to trees, usually with nails. These last longer than paint, but are vulnerable to both the chewing of animals and the growth of the tree, which causes the marker to fall off, to protect against this possibility, most markers are put on with some space between the head and the bark. The placement of markers requires more skill and labor than paint, flags are sometimes used for permanent trails, but they are the most vulnerable to the elements of any trail blazing method and may be more difficult to see
