I am not making this up

On the Noland Trail in Newport News, VA, there are tree roots marked with Day-glo paint so you will not trip and hurt your self. Has anyone seen this elsewhere?

Reminds me once of an explanation I once got from an attorney regarding an older lady who tripped on a crack in the sidewalk at a mall. The crux of the legal case in the eyes of a jury might be this: a huge crack any fool could see, a tiny crack would be a fake excuse and gold-digging, but a crack just right would be a possible cause of her tripping and a case of negligent maintenance.

Can you imagine the Whitney Trail or the JMT someday having all its rocks painted? even the teeny ones like these roots:

Yuck...unsightly....anyone who has been hiking for a while knows to watch for roots ...rocks...etc...hikers have to be alert or they can easily get off trail and get lost...geez if the Nanny state is going this far why not go all the way and put a white dotted line down the middle so hikers stay to right side of the trail at all times...but what would happen if someone from England was hiking the trail...OMG...they would hike the left side of the trail and that would mean a certain collision would happen...

...Hey Wagga....which side of the trail would Aussies hike on?

That's just sad. Some people are just too sue-happy and should stay home and do jumping jacks.

Pretty silly. On the other hand, this not exactly a trail: its a handicapped accessible footpath around a lake, with benches every half mile, etc. And, BTW, why would you call this the "Nanny State" at work? In fact, this is a private enterprise, proudly proclaimed as

MAriner's Park

" The Largest Privately Maintained Park in America
What goes into keeping 550 acres of park and lake open for the public? A lot of hard work. Five miles of trail and bridges must be kept clear of debris and maintained for thousands of walkers and runners who use the Noland Trail each year. The Museum grounds crew works year round to cultivate the extensive native flora and to make sure benches, mile markers, and handicap access are available for park patrons - but they need your help in preserving this community treasure."

saltydog made a good catch. Cheap shots at the so-called nanny state are everywhere and some are even deserved, but this is basically Tom Sawyer's Island at Disneyland. The private sector has been in the business of making nature properly hygienic for many decades. Disney, of course, would have removed the roots, while the good folks in Newport News seem to think that day glo paint is enough.

A balance of replies, thanks.

When I was there a few days ago, the only physically -challenged person was me with my new clunking and clacking new knee.

My cousin uses that trail and the nearby stadium stairs to get ready for Mather Pass. Next month he will be waiting for me at the top.

Oooops....I'm bad...I apologize for running off my mouth without checking facts...I think its wonderful that this trail was made accessible for EVERYONE of all abilities.

Ok Dr. Langford...I'm going to be a bit more skeptical when reading your posts from now on...you're not going to trick me again..ha..ha... I'm a bit gullible as you might have observed.

Lynn, no trickery intended - do not let the facts get in the way
It is nanny state whether public or private. That trail (or path if Salty insists) is wide and easy enough that you could easily miss those roots.

Someone will likely point out the brief section of trail at Whitney Portal as a handicapped-accessible area. I still think the pink roots are overkill.

Standing back -- careful not to trip whilst doing so -- I think that the pink roots are more of an indicator of the sad state of the frivolous lawsuits that fill the courtrooms (and cost us all) In some ways, I believe that private property is more vulnerable to those lawsuits than say, a State Park. Case in point: the local mall used to allow walkers access before general business hours, however, one day, someone tripped over his shoelace and broke the arm.....and promptly sued the mall (now the Cinnabuns are a dollar more)(and groups are not allowed to walk at the mall before hours anymore) I am not sure that it would be so easy to sue a state park if one tripped, due to the long list of disclaimers that one encounters at the kiosk.

Harvey,

All you have to do it go up Ice House Canyon to see something similar. Through the "Rock Garden" and a above Upper Chapman Trail Junction there are orange and white stripes, which were put in by the Koreans who frequent this trail to aid them to traveling the trail in the winter.

It's a disgusting eye sore.

I was assuming that the defacement that Harvey showed was done legally. The defacement of Icehouse Canyon, which is definitely an eyesore, is pure vandalism.

Do you really know that the many Koreans who regularly hike in Icehouse Canyon got together and decided to install orange and white markings, or are you disparaging a large group of innocent fellow hikers? (By the way, I am just poking a little fun, not seriously suggesting that you meant any ill.)

And here I thought the arrows on Birdge Mountain (Red Rocks, NV) were simply pointing me to the man of my dreams... <sigh>

That "Red Rocks" pic reminds me of mountain bike riding the "Slickrock Trail" near Moab, Utah. The trail has a painted dashed line all over the place.

...found these images:
 

those painted lines remind me that on Old Rag Mt there are some occasional useful arrows for newcomers so they do not get lost going through the boulders.

There are several tight spots and at one of those an alternative wider route. A painted arrow said "fat people this way." This is now history. Could not find a picture of that non-PC marking, just general pics:

Old Rag http://www.google.com/search?num=10&...5FaTM6wHDqpHEBg

Alan, I've been up there enough in the winter to know who did it. It's uniform and in area where people get lost. I don't know how many Koreans I have put right in those places in the winter over the last 10 years.

I can't say for certain they did it but I would bet my house on they, meaning someone in the Toyo Hiking Club, did.

Ah, the stories I can tell.

-NOT!

This is "The Magic of the Marketplace!"

Let's not kid ourselves as to exactly what it is.

Hmmm...seems to me to be vandalism within the graffiti zone but I'm not as enlightened as Ken.