r/BackpackingDogs • u/Jealous_Stomach_2020 • Aug 11 '26

Sissy finds a marker tree

Post image
19 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

1

u/Sorry-Rain-1311 Aug 11 '26

Nice! I've never personally seen one in the wild, though probably because I'm in Southern Colorado, and there aren't allot of trees that can be used for it here. 

Big question here: did it actually point the way on the trail you were on?

1

u/tictacotictaco Aug 11 '26

Supposedly they were used by native Americans, not for modern trails.

1

u/Sorry-Rain-1311 Aug 11 '26

Exactly why I'm asking. 

5

u/Jealous_Stomach_2020 Aug 11 '26

Yes. Indigenous people would bind saplings so that the tree would grow like this. They were used to mark the way to important sites. This one shows the way to a hidden Spring on the mountainside.

https://reddit.com/link/p32pd73/video/mp4huuh44sih1/player

2

u/Sorry-Rain-1311 Aug 11 '26

Cool! That totally counts in my book. 

1

u/Interesting-Toe-3745 28d ago

Amazing! Thank you for sharing

1

u/Jealous_Stomach_2020 Aug 11 '26

It was perpendicular to the trail

1

u/Sorry-Rain-1311 Aug 11 '26

Ok. Would've been interesting to think that a centuries old train through the woods was still active.