[pct-l] Glacier Peak closure

[Eric Lee (GAMES)]

Tattoo-Joe wrote:
>
I would like to see the community focus on the most damaged section of trail on the entire PCT, rather than going over and over what is really not too bad, like I saw all the way up the trail.
>

I don't claim to have special insight into the plans for the Glacier Peak section of the PCT, but according to my best understanding the problem with the west-side trail is that it *keeps* getting damaged.  It's just very challenging geography through which to put a trail, while the east-side route is supposed to be more stable and thus less costly over the long run.  The discussion centers around whether it's best to keep the PCT routed through an area that will probably always have chronic disasters or to move it somewhere else that, while perhaps less scenic, is more reliable and less of a money pit.

It's kind of like the ongoing discussions about whether to rebuild certain parts of New Orleans.  Yes, we *can* do so, but with the virtual certainty that the exact same disaster is going to happen again in the future, is it really a good idea?

I don't know what the right answer is but I do know the problem is complex and there are good arguments on both sides.

Eric