[pct-l] What do you think?

[abiegen at cox.net]

What the author does not mention is that he is an outspoken mountain bike advocate first and foremost. I doubt he cares about hikers/skiers getting lost. He, and IMBA want to open up all wilderness to mountain biking so he can have his version of fun. Take a look at this article by Stroll:

http://articles.sfgate.com/1999-06-18/opinion/17691118_1_trails-narrow-fire-road

This is a typical propaganda piece by an IMBA advocate to get others to allow them to do their adrenaline thing. A few years ago they tried the same misdirection techniques with baby strollers. The government isn't allowing poor women with babies to experience the wilderness. That idea fell flat when people started to try and picture baby strollers, maybe the double wide units, tooling down a trail in the wilderness.

Now their using fear - fear of getting lost because there are no signs. Oh the horror of a trail with no signs! How will we cope? We might have to use a map, or one of those compass thingies, or God forbid, a G-P-S computer! So something happened to someone in 1970. We need signs now so we can go another 40 years without it happening again. People's lives are at stake here!

It's just another manipulative tactic by a group, IMBA, supported by the manufacturers of mountain bikes and mountain bike equipment to open up the wilderness to more consumers of their products. Didn't the snow board manufacturers fund getting into ski runs?

Some of you may be mountain bikers. I own a mountain bike. I have nothing against them, just as I have nothing against snow boards, skateboards, etc. They are a lot of fun if used in a way that doesn't ruin someone else's fun. But do we really want them on the PCT and in wilderness areas? Try hiking down Fuller Ridge with a group (yes they come in groups) of mountain bikers tooling down behind you. Would it ruin your PCT experience? Would you be willing to change the motto to "Hike their own hike" instead of hike your own hike? There are places, plenty of places, for mountain bikes. Can we have a few without them?

TrailHacker
"I can't think when my feet hurt."
Abraham Lincoln