Basic signs and symbols you have found

Remind me, again, what this line of questioning was supposed to accomplish with regard to the greater good? The greater good being defined in this particular instance by the furthering education of those individuals, deemed as beginners, participating herein.

Clay
 

Clay,
You should be aware that all a person needs for keeping a 2-man crosscut saw sharp is a 6 inch file; either mill or bas tard. With that file, a person could / can keep that saw sharp and ready for ever.......unless the saw broke. Also, there was / is a 1-man crosscut saw that has the same tooth arrangement as the 2-man. The single man is about 4 feet long with a large wooden handle on one end and the blade rounded off on the other.
I have a friend who told me once that his Dad use to tell him that a person could use a 6 inch file to keep ANY edged tool sharp.
So, your trees could have been sawn by one man setting up a cache of personal wealth, too.
 

Shortstack,

Sir... Thank you. That is a very valid point and should be considered by all as an addition to their notes. I was sure to add it myself. Can anyone think of some other useful information concerning the potential use of stump markers to mark trails? Size, shape, pattern, etc. Or does anyone have any pictures they would like to share?

Clay
 

clay, my dad told me that in cutting timber with the two man saw, the company hired one man that did nothing but keep the saws sharp. he was known as the saw filer and he was right there in the woods doin' his duty. i have a set of those tools- lacking one piece. if i knew how to post i would show them. i would imagine the idea came from the past. =tenclaw=
 

10claw,

Also great information. If you were to post pictures of the equipment on the forum somewhere, I would be sure to look at them. Among other things, I have always enjoyed the "why" factor when it comes to tool design. Any thoughts on the pecked "U" or "V" I posted?

Clay
 

Clay:
Looks like there might be somemore figures in that stone. There appears to be a straight line coming from under the heel of your thumb and running horizontally to the right. There appears to be a circular shape running from beneath your index finger, between the 1st and 2nd knuckles, out and up.
How about it? Anymore figures being hidden by your hand? :laughing7:
 

I didn't mean to cover up anything. I placed my hand next to it to give me a size reference. The rock only appeared to have just the one S/S. I'll be back out there this Sunday. I'll take more photos.

Clay
 

clay, i can see the horizontal line that shortstack mentiomed. just rough guessing, i would say the horizontal line is old and the V is new, or newer. inverting the color shows the same thing.
 

Hey guys,

The girlfirend and I went out and found some really interesting stuff today. I think I may have found my first duck (?). Before you ask, the entire surface of the boulder was checked thoroughly for tool marks. Nada. The angle is kinda off because the current growth of the vegetation and the incline wouldn't allow for a better angle. Although, it seems as though any way I looked at it, the mouth appeared to be open.

Imagine me in the middle of nowhere trying to remember what the duck symbol means. You know, cause I had the "other" notebook with me. Anyhow, I digress. Can anyone help me verify what I think it is? If it's a rock, then it's a rock. But if it's a duck, well I've got more work to do. Thanks...

Clay
 

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Definitely a pointer!!
Direction to the left,

But...
If it is a duck ... Need to look for another sign or reverse direction,
Your trail will be evident.
 

Thank you for the info on the pointer. More on that to follow.

The other day, I posted a picture of a what I thought to be a stump marker. Well, while I was out in the area this past weekend, I found another example. This one has no "leading" braches. It just sticks about 4ft straight in the air. I put myself, however goofy, in the photo to show the height and the girth of the stump. In my boots, on a good day, I am 6' 1.5" and 205lbs. This stump in particular was in a clearing and showed the area and elevation quite well.

I am rapidly gathering evidence to show (prove?) the existance and frequent use of stump markers in trails. More on that to come as well.

Clay
 

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That's good to hear Clay,
I have been preaching stumps for years.
They play an integral part in many of these trails, and are the one most ignored sign out there.
They add stability and continuity that in many cases is lost when stumps are left out of the equation.
 

All are tremendous conclusions and are very possible. In my dedication to the resolution, or I guess, formulation of this stump topic, I will be back out at this site this weekend. I have photo's of eight individual stumps. 8 of ? would be the question. Any of you out there have a suggestion on how I can show proof of concept without revealing the location? See the dilemma? Of course realizing I could have a detailed satelite photo outlining all of the stumps, with bearing and distance between, and certain people may still be skeptical. Anyhow, I have a ton of information on the stumps I have photo's of and may have to wait until after I finish working this area to publish it. We shall see.

Clay
 

Clay, you found a duck. Now, what does that mean? I missed the duck symbols' meanings. :dontknow:
Anyway, what do you think of my ideas of your photo. Hey, did Paul Bunyon pee-pee on your stump?

duck Merged Merged.jpg
 

Thank you everyone for your feed back on that wtritng i found. When get down that way later this year I will get better pics. It is just too indefinite right now.

Besides the great insight everyone posted on clays trailmaker..I wanted to point out something.

The horse head is a horse head..and it is attached to a body carrying a heavy load and not too happy about it i think. Horse is kind of bunched up in its legs and haunches. Steep or hard trail ? Good for animals though.


But it is the rectangled figure(s) to the left of the horse..that and the 4 balls really stood out to me. In that rectangled figure there are some carvings and other information that I bet would be good to know!

Especially notice there are some straight lines or a partial rectangle involved with in that set of carvings/figures/symbols in the yellowed rectangle area. Hard to make out the carvings..could be a cross..or a curvy x in one area..and can not make out what it is in the other symbolic carving.


Have you a close up of that area?
 

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Shortstack,

Well with regards to the duck, all I could remember at the time was to go in the opposite direction it was facing. With all of the rest, I have studied Spanish S/S, but until I saw this I had no field experience with them. As most of you know, I have had a habit of chasing drill holes and stumps up until this point. I wasn't Paul Bunyon, it was me. JK! :tongue3: The information I have been using on ducks was published, I think, in the John Sites thread.

I do know this... DM may be on to something because the terrain in this area is well beyond steep and hard to travel. I will be going back to this site this weekend with notes on all of your suggestions. If there is something you would like to see more of let me know and I get a close up for you. There is a lot more in signs/markers with regards to this particular site I would love to share. I just don't feel like I have all of the pieces yet. I hope to finalize my research and begin sharing it with all of you very soon.

Thank you all for your input.

Clay
 

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