[pct-l] Sonora Pass fall

[Shelly Culbertson]

On 9/27/06, Ned Tibbits <ned at mountaineducation.com> posted Tom Drewenskus' <
tdrewenskus at qwest.net> email in which Tom wrote:

 In the future I would like the PCTA to close
> the steep section of trail on Sonora Pass when it is snow covered. But,
> this
> may be too much to ask.
>
> Tom Drewenskus
> Aka "By The Book"



I didn't think that the PCTA ever "closes" sections of the trail - please
correct me if I'm wrong.  I think that when closures occur, they are
typically dictated and enforced by whoever controls the land which that
section of trail is on - Forest Service, BLM, etc.

But also, I wouldn't advocate additional trail closures.  It seems to me
that backcountry travel has inherent risks and each individual needs to be
responsible for making their own decisions.  If there were to be additional
closures for "unsafe" conditions, wouldn't the threshold be innately
arbitrary?  Regulation of this sort too often seeks the lowest common
denominator.  I know that there are many things I might feel unsafe doing,
that others can do comfortably (including hiking on snow!).  But just
because I might not feel safe on that stretch of trail, I would not presume
to make that decision for others more capable than myself.

Shelly