[pct-l] PCTA records

[jimniedbalski at aol.com]

  Hello everyone,
  On a section hike in June, I was enjoying a beverage at the store at Cajon Pass when Meadow Ed, who was filling up on gas on his way back to southern California, walked up to me and inquired about my hike and well-being. I enjoyed meeting Ed, just as I’ve enjoyed meeting all the other trail friends/supporters/angels for a moment or day of friendliness and sometimes favors.

  So, now some folks are giving Ed a hard time for wanting access to PCTA records?!! Frankly, I see no reason why the PCTA is not allowing access to its trail records/statistics by members. Membership predominantly funds the non-profit organization. A non-profit serves its members, and members serve the non-profit. Shouldn’t that mean access to its records? Why the secrecy? To what end is the PCTA trying to “protect” records of persons hiking the PCT, whether it’s a section, thru, or yo-yo hike? We’re not talking about personal, private, identity-theft information here – we’re talking about a name, maybe an address and age. If Meadow Ed or anyone wanted to contact this person, he/she would have every right to say they’re not interested and hang up the phone or close the door.

  Since this issue has surfaced, maybe the PCTA should explain its position, to determine if there’s a legitimate reason for it, or perhaps someone on the list can shed some light on this – maybe some of us are missing something.

  If people truly wanted to retain the “privacy” of their hikes, they wouldn’t notify the PCTA or consent to even give their name to the PCTA, wouldn’t sign trail registers, and generally would stay off the radar. I’m not aware of any “privacy” laws governing recreation on public lands. Public lands are administered by public agencies, whose activities are largely open to the public. If a public agency issues a permit to a person to access public land, that’s a public record. 

  But that’s not the point here. People enjoy the PCT in different ways. Please, let them do it – it’s their reality, not yours. If someone wants to take the time to research PCT statistics, that should be okay, and he/she shouldn’t be insulted for it.
 Jim
"High Octane"

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