[pct-l] Alternative Letter to BLM re Golden Oak Springs

[RJ Lewis]

Yo Jon,
 There are 2 things here you need to understand...One, No one is 
expecting a "handout" or welfare. Two, your almighty tax dollars don't 
pay for any services, it barely pays the interest on the national 
debt!!! Oh and BTW, in case you haven't figured it out yet for yourself, 
Income Taxes (federal) are Illegal.  Don't believe me, go look it up for 
yourself.

I think sabotaging the folks who are trying to get the spring up and 
running again, to perhaps SAVE LIVES....is really mean spirited, to put 
it mildly. If the BLM or whoever is responsible (or not) for that area, 
is supposed to fix that spring, as they have in the past, then they need 
to be made aware of it. 

I agree that hikers should be prepared, but this IS indeed a record 
breaking year, and I would hate to see that your letters stopped them 
from fixing it, and as a result, people died. I hope you can live with 
that on your conscience. I sure wouldn't like to be in your shoes if 
that happens, because of your efforts here. Just think, that person in 
those shoes could be YOU. Are you going to accept help when/if it 
arrives, or are you going to turn it away, and accept your own demise as 
part of the chances you take out on the PCT? Somehow I think that unlikely.


Jon Danniken wrote:
> I'm pasting a couple of letters here addressed to two people with the BLM in 
> Bakersfield because there are a small number of people who are expecting a 
> handout on the trail.  That they expect the government to help them in their 
> sport is over the line, and if beyond the scope of common sense.
>
> There are two letters here so please scroll down.
>
> Please pass it on to other groups and concerned citizens.
>
>
> Patricia Gradek - Field Office manager
>
> USDI - Bureau of Land Management
>
> 3801 Pegasus Dr.
>
> Bakersfield, CA  93308
>
> 661-391-6131
>
>
>
> Dear Ms. Gradek,
>
> I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that hiking the Pacific 
> Crest Trail is not a mandatory activity for those who partake it.  As such, 
> it is incumbent upon each individual hiker to prepare herself for the 
> challenges which it presents.
>
> As concerns the government providing and maintaining water sources for 
> hikers, this would a terrible waste of our tax dollars.  Additionally, it 
> would rob the hikers of the very experience which they seek on the trail, 
> namely, to endeavor upon a self-sufficient voluntary trek across the Western 
> United States.
>
> A few hikers, unfortunately, see this issue differently, and will be issuing 
> correspondance to your office pleading with you to provide them with water 
> sources, and to maintain same.
>
> I, as well as many other individuals, do not feel that it is the 
> responsibility of the government to compensate for unprepared hikers.  Your 
> office is no more responsible to maintain water souces along the PCT as it 
> is to maintain the PCT to be free from snow and ice, a position which I am 
> certain that your constituents would agree with.
>
> I urge you to resist their dire pleadings, in favor of reminding yourself 
> the common sense that those who hike this trail do so on their own volition, 
> and as such, have no right, despite their own inability to provide for their 
> own recreational needs, to become dependant upon tax dollars provided by 
> hardworking Americans.
>
> Additionally, it deserves to be said that the majority of PCT hikers do not 
> need, nor appreciate a handout, and are fully equipped to deal with the 
> uncertainties of the trail, including dry springs.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----------  Next Letter  -----------------------------
>
>
> Diane Simpson - Outdoor Recreation Planner
>
> Bureau of Land Management
>
> 3801 Pegasus Dr.
>
> Bakersfield, CA  93308
>
> 661-391-6120
>
>
>
> Dear Ms. Simpson,
>
> I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that hiking the Pacific 
> Crest Trail is not a mandatory activity for those who partake it.  As such, 
> it is incumbent upon each individual hiker to prepare herself for the 
> challenges which it presents.
>
> As concerns the government providing and maintaining water sources for 
> hikers, this would a terrible waste of our tax dollars.  Additionally, it 
> would rob the hikers of the very experience which they seek on the trail, 
> namely, to endeavor upon a self-sufficient voluntary trek across the Western 
> United States.
>
> A few hikers, unfortunately, see this issue differently, and will be issuing 
> correspondance to your office pleading with you to provide them with water 
> sources, and to maintain same.
>
> I, as well as many other individuals, do not feel that it is the 
> responsibility of the government to compensate for unprepared hikers.  Your 
> office is no more responsible to maintain water souces along the PCT as it 
> is to maintain the PCT to be free from snow and ice, a position which I am 
> certain that your constituents would agree with.
>
> I urge you to resist their dire pleadings, in favor of reminding yourself 
> the common sense that those who hike this trail do so on their own volition, 
> and as such, have no right, despite their own inability to provide for their 
> own recreational needs, to become dependant upon tax dollars provided by 
> hardworking Americans.
>
> Additionally, it deserves to be said that the majority of PCT hikers do not 
> need, nor appreciate a handout, and are fully equipped to deal with the 
> uncertainties of the trail, including dry springs.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> _______________________________________________
> pct-l mailing list
> pct-l at backcountry.net
> unsubscribe or change options:
> http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>
>