A Trail by any other name

We are used to two basic designations in the Wilderness.

A Trail--the trail up Kearsarge Pass

A TRAIL is a maintained path that the staff makes an effort to keep functional. On our trail crews we have cut through logs, removed large rocks, built rock steps, improved the tread, and lopped back brush, all in an effort to keep trails in good order.

And we have decommissioned a few trails as well--filling the old path with brush and stones to make sure that hikers don't confuse it with the proper and maintained version of the trail.

Rocks and boulders on the way to Robinson Lake

A ROUTE is a non-maintained path that is recognized as an established way to reach various destinations. It may have any of the features mentioned above, but is not maintained, and users are cautioned that it may not lead to where they think. That's because hikers often add cairns or other markers, including footprints, without knowing exactly where they are going or what they are doing.

But at Onion Valley we met a trail that was designated "not frequently maintained," on the way up to Robinson Lake. And that was accurate. In fact, we've hiked any number of "routes" in the wilderness that were better designed, and easier to follow.

It was a mess. And it made us think. There is a pack station at Onion Valley, and they clearly survive by taking people on horses and mules on the local trails. But only one of those trails is passable for those animals--the one to Kearsarge Pass. They other two, to Robinson Lake and to Golden Trout Lakes, are "not frequently maintained" and would be a reall challenge for pack animals. Go figure.