Blazing is in reference to the blazes along the Appalachian trail. The normal markings along the trail are called blazes. They are 2″ wide and 6″ tall. Generally they are on trees but often are found on rocks, posts, etc. There are other styles of blazes which I thought my ght be interesting to refer too. I shamefully stole the following image as I couldn’t find a good sample of my own!
White blazing
This is the normal hiking of the trail. You go from white blaze to white blaze. “Purists” are at least white blazers.
Yellow blazing
Takin a ride on the road to avoid some part of the trail.
Blue blazing
There are some alternate paths on the AT. Some blue blazed paths lead to water sources. Some lead to shelter or towns. Others are alternate paths such as “bad weather alternate path”.
Web blazing
This is done first thing in the morning. It’s not related to “going off course”, it’s about the early morning first poor soul who clears the spider webs for the later hikers.
Green blazing
Green blazing refers to activity around weed use on the trail. Sometimes it’s to a supply, sometimes to a place to smoke. I don’t partake so I’m not a pro.
Aqua blazing
There are a few places on the trail where you can take a canoe/raft/tube ride down a river to advance down the trail.
Pink blazing
Chasin’ the ladies on the trail.
HikingSeason 
Yes leave it to the environmentalist hikers to mark a beaten path with 5 or six colors of paint.
The original version of “blazing a trail” was used by pioneers to mark a trail that did not get used often so they could re-find the same trial after seasonal changes. It was typically a square above a vertical rectangle (also sometimes called a “dot and dash”) cut with an axe into the bark of the tree. If you were facing the blaze the trial continued the direction of the blaze (to your back) and the other side of the tree had another blaze facing the direction the trial went to the next one. At a Y or T in the trial blazes would be on 3 faces of the same tree. Some Jeep trials we have been on in CA and CO have had these markings last for 100+ years, they are almost unnoticeable unless you need them to guide you as opposed to the repulsive recent use of signs, paint and even glue on lane reflectors on the Rubicon Trail
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The original blazes were slashes on tree bark. That has changed over the years as the trail has moved and concerns of the day changed. With 28 different clubs applying the “standard” let’s just say some were better than others. I never saw pink or aqua paint…but there were definitely blue blazes.
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Fourlo, you forgot the occasional but all important brown blaze.
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Privy walk?
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Yes, privy walk from the trail after leaving camp.
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