[pct-l] rangers - moving to NOT building fires...

[Jeffrey Olson]

The following is pure personal opinion and not meant to offend or enflame...

I hope that the new crop of hikers anticipating hitting the trail in a 
couple months don't build fires - EVER!!!  Even in established campsites 
please.

The pace of change in the wilderness is incredibly slow.  When we blast 
through and think, "I'll just build a small fire to get warm" our choice is 
based in ignorance.  We think, "my little fire and the wood it burns is 
almost nil in impact.

However, our ignorance is repeated hundreds and thousands of times over the 
course of decades - our "almost nil" impact is additive.

What's worse is the social fire - somehow sitting around a two food wide 
fire warms the social heart.  Please - don't do it.

Slow down and feel the pace of change that is the forest's.  This is hard. 
But this is where the "leave no trace" ethic starts.  The wilderness gives 
us the opportunity to take personal responsibility for paces of change 
centuries long.  We are given the opportunity to do what we say - we say we 
value the wilderness, and sometimes, feel a sacred connection within it.

Jeffrey Olson
Martin, SD