[pct-l] RECORD SECTION HIKES

[harriet von]

Hi Donna I know for fact that the PCT office had Boxes
and Boxes of old Registers.I am picking the Books up
from Manning for the last 9 years and Joe told me a
long time ago that nobody looks at them.I do think
that if we sign the Register everybody can look and
count the hikers. Harriet
--- "Donna \"L-Rod\" Saufley" <dsaufley at sprynet.com>
wrote:

> Trail registers are one thing, as they are left out
> in the public domain for anyone to read. I am 100%
> certain that when a hikers signs a register, they're
> not doing so with the idea that someone will be
> tracking their progress and comparing or reporting
> it for others to see.  How creepy to have people you
> don't know monitoring your progress.
> 
> Permit applications are another thing, as they have
> personal information, such as a mailing address
> along with your name.  The Graham Leech Bliley Act
> requires this type of information to be protected by
> the businesses and organizations who collect it.  
> 
> To assume that the PCT has all the old trail
> registers is absurd.  Many trail registers have been
> scattered to the winds so to speak.  These were
> never official in any way, and there have never been
> any rules or instructions about what to do with them
> when they are full.  For example, I am still trying
> to recover our local registers from the heirs and
> estate of Darryl Readmond, who used to manage this
> section of trail.  He died, and the old registers
> were in his possession at the time of his death.  I
> am certain there are cases like this all up and down
> the trail.  
> 
> I simply respect the rights of hikers to have their
> whereabouts kept private.  This is because some of
> them have told me outright that they didn't want
> anyone to know where they were.  Before I've posted
> that so-and-so is here at Hiker Heaven, I get
> permission from them to do so.  To not get
> permission is an invasion of their privacy.  Perhaps
> they are on the run from the law, or other personal
> demons.  Then, too, there were several incidents on
> the AT where hikers were stalked because of their
> journal postings -- very scary especially for young
> women on their own. And, some people just don't want
> to be found, period. The trail is a place where they
> can disconnect from everything.    
> 
> There are those who want to follow the hikers
> progress like it's a horse race.  They want to know
> how fast, who skipped what, and compare them like
> some kind of commodity, whether the hikers
> themselves are seeking that type of awareness of
> their progress or not.  To those who wish to monitor
> this type of information, I say, "get a life and
> leave the hikers in peace!" They are not out there
> hiking for anyone's entertainment.
> 
> If a hiker wants you to know of their progress or
> experience on the trail, they will keep a trail
> journal, post to some list or other, ask you to post
> it, or write about their journey after the fact and
> publish it somewhere.  Some people are more than
> willing to share their stories.  Others are not.  I
> truly believe we need to be respectful of that, and
> I see what I consider a blatant disregard of hiker
> privacy almost daily on the PCT-L.
> 
> L-Rod
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: Tortoise <Tortoise73 at charter.net>
> >Sent: Sep 2, 2007 9:21 PM
> >To: pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net
> >Cc: "Donna \"L-Rod\" Saufley"
> <dsaufley at sprynet.com>, ed faubert
> <edfaubert at yahoo.com>, Steel-Eye
> <chelin at teleport.com>
> >Subject: Re: [pct-l] RECORD SECTION HIKES
> >
> >It seems to me that a trail register is a public or
> semi-public record. 
> >there is no indication that the information in a
> trail register is 
> >confidential. In fact it seems that one purpose of
> a trail register is 
> >to give hikers a legitimate way to say "I was here"
> as well as adding 
> >other comments. Far better this than carving their
> name into a rock or 
> >log. As someone else has said, if you want your
> where abouts to be 
> >private, don't sign the registers.
> >
> >OTOH, I would have to look at the wilderness permit
> regs before saying 
> >whether or not a wilderness permit should be public
> information.
> >
> >Tortoise
> >
> ><> He who finishes last, wins! <>
> >
> >I switched to Mac OSX rather than fight Windows
> >Using Mozilla Thunderbird 
> http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/
> >
> >
> >
> >Donna "L-Rod" Saufley wrote:
> >> Ed,
> >>
> >> Because there are laws around privacy, and it's
> nobody's damn business who hiked when and how old
> they were (or for that matter, who's on the trail
> right now and where they are).  If someone wants you
> to know those details they will keep a trail
> journal, post to this or some other list, or write a
> book. Many have chosen to do so.  For many other
> hikers, it's a very personal experience and not for
> the entertainment and speculation of others with
> apparently nothing better to do with their time.
> >>
> >> I for one thank the PCTA for keeping this
> information private.
> >>
> >> L-Rod
> >>
> >>
> >>   
> 
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