A dupe cut on a tree to indicate a trail?
yes, if it is private property. if it is your own property and nearby is no logging a mark to cut ribbon can be used to mark a trail. however, if you own somone to come and cut trees, they may cut the marked trees down by mistake. it depends what kind of flaw. some small but noticeable ones can indeed mark a trail. the push button is to look and see if there are other trees with similar grades and roughly the same area.
Cutting into the bark of a tree is approaching slicing your own skin. It will cause the tree to die. If you could mark the trail near an orange plastic tape that can be removed after season that would be best. Other learned, anything that is screwed into, wrapped around or attached to the tree will eventually cause it impair.
Suggestion - 3 foot tall ground steaks with signs attached to them. Easy satisfactory to do, picket fence pickets can be bought separately, turn them upside down, hammer them into the ground and attach a wooden sign to them.
Answers: It can kill the tree, if that's what you want to know. It's a process called "girdling" when you want to gun down the tree. If that's not what you wanted then please ask a request for information that we can understand.