Everywhere a Sign.

One thing that I like about National Forest trails are the signs. I can negotiate okay in wilderness areas where there are no signs, but I prefer to have them. I have a lousy sense of direction and can get myself lost. Not lost in the sense of having to spend the night in the woods or have someone come in to rescue me, but "lost" in the way that I sometimes have to backtrack to find the correct route. I can use a map and compass like most outdoorsmen, but I like a trail that's plainly blazed and which has signs.

Pisgah National Forest does a pretty good job with the signs. They have several types. Here are some of the signs that I encountered on my hike on Sunday.

Sign along the trail indicating how to get to the cliff top views.

They also use this kind of sign. I haven't figured out what they're made of, but you encounter these often in Pisgah. I suppose they're low maintenance, but they don't appear to be very sturdy.

A USGS survey marker indicating the summit of Cedar Rock Mountain. The elevation figures were just about worn off. Circa the 1930s, I think.

Here's an old-fashioned kind of trail sign that we encountered in a gap with a lot of intersections from a number of trails. This spot apparently gets confusing for some people.

This was the only "keep out" type of sign we encountered. This was to protect access to part of the Fish Hatchery. They have to keep the fish hatchery area clean and clear so that the fry will grow up and be able to stock our streams and rivers.