Trail Trees?

[TrpnBils]

I never even knew there was such a thing until I saw an article on these a few days ago. I lived in a very rural area on Western PA growing up and we'd occasionally come across some very "bent" large trees. I have to assume they can grow like this naturally if something disrupts their normal growth, but it got me wondering.... are actual trail trees extremely rare, or are they around and nobody knows what they are when they see them? Are they more common in certain regions?

 

[1320]

I can't imagine that a true trail tree will still be alive today.....

 

[TrpnBils]

Here is the article I was talking about: Great Lakes Trail Marker Tree Society | Trail Trees | Trail Marker Trees | Home of the Great Lakes Trail Tree Society

 

[Sallysue]

There were some bent trees and they found an old chest full of old money in that area .

 

[Indian Steve]

If they are trail trees, they would need to be a couple of hundred years old, at least, on the east coast. Trees get bent in lots of ways by nature. Most people don't realize the size a tree would have to be to be that old. We had a guy on TV a while back trying to get permission to dig in the cemetery in Danville, VA to dig up Confederate gold based on a message that he found on a beech tree. They showed the tree on TV and it wasn't more than 50 years old.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

I see this come up all the time and I ask the same question. Why would the best hunters and trackers that ever walked our planet need a bent tree to show them the way? Especially the ones that they say lead to water. These people were so in tune with the Earth they didn't need a bent tree to show them where to go.

The other thing that shoots these down is the fact that the trees would need to be at last 150 to 200 years old to have been used by the NA's and most of the pictures I have seen show trees that may be 50 to 75 years at best.

 

[Mrdigz]

I've heard of this before and think it's interesting. Are there any native tribes to confirm this theory? Maybe stories handed down through the years or engravings showing certain trees? I might look into it if I can find some free time. Maybe they were used to show visiting Indians where to pray or the best hunting or fishing areas? Or maybe to tell other tribes to stay out. Like a posted sign In modern times? Even event Promotions, like an Indian rain dance July 1st- 14th free admission for children under the bend of this tree? Ha

 

[Hitndahed]

Especially in the East,,, at least where we live.
The trees were all cut down in the 1700s,,, then several times since then.
The 1700s cuts were to fire the iron and coke furnaces that supplied materials for wars and industrial stuff.
As far as I know the only "old growth" in Pa is the Tuscarora state park,,in Perry county.
There are some HUGE hemlocks there,,, think EWOK huge,,lol
Also there is a small guage railroad tunnel there that was supposed to connect Perry and Cumberland counties but it was never finished.
And yes,,, you could walk into it,, least when I was there.
I would say the chances of finding ANY "trail trees" in the East would be very slim.

 

[welsbury]

In Oregon anyway there are trees called pitch trees where natives debarked a portion of the stump and obtained pitch for there needs. These trees are several hundred years old and were used by the latest Indians to arrive here and were Piutes. There are still a few around the forest if you know where to look. A few hundred years is not very old when talking Indian stuff.

 

[monsterrack]

If you think about it you can come up with all types of meanings. 200 years ago there were some tribes left but as Grim said it just does not stand to reason, maybe white men had to do it 200 years ago, but I see ones like this one posted for a trail tree. I cut this tree down 30 years ago because it was blocking my view of some deer, now it a trail tree.

 

[Tnmountains]

No they are not trail trees. You get dead falls that hit other smaller trees and hold them down and they grow like that and as the dead fall rots off... the tree rises up. Native Americans did not need to mark the trails. They could track anything.
I say this from experience out of seeing a tract cut and harvested and then the same tract cut again mature 30 years later. Plus I have spent my life in the woods and mountains.
That being said they are cool to see!

 

[Charl]

Having lived in their particular homelands for hundreds and thousands of years, I do myself question why Native Americans would have needed guide posts of sorts to find their way around.

Here in Rhode Island, go back to the late 1800's, and we were all but stripped of any forested land. Now we are 60%+ young growth forest. We do have one 20 acre old growth forest growing near the Atlantic Ocean on Aquidneck Island. I mention that because to look at the trees one might never know that some are close to 300 years old, and all are over 200 years old.

I have been told that the effect of growing close to salt water has the effect, somehow, of "disguising" the fact that these are old growth trees. Check out the photos. This is an old growth forest of American Beech, 200-300 years old. I could never really guess they were that old just based on their appearance....

https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifesty...tten-forest/kymqkuyp0yLnYrORRYasJP/story.html

 

[The Grim Reaper]

And look, none of them are bent and pointing to the ocean. lol

 

[unclemac]

and as you hunters know...if you are bushwhacking out in the wild, there are plenty of game trails to follow if you need to get through a tough spot.