[pct-l] Fw: Re: Dogs in National Parks/horses/mules/llamas

[Charles Williams]

--- On Thu, 12/15/11, Charles Williams <charlesnolie at yahoo.com> wrote:


From: Charles Williams <charlesnolie at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Dogs in National Parks/horses/mules/llamas
To: "Brick Robbins" <brick at brickrobbins.com>
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011, 1:54 PM







Most horsemen (and women) do not have the resources to keep a string of mules at the ready in case they want to take a vacation by horseback.  That means if horsemen are to exercise their right to travel by horseback for a few days or a week, they have to rely on pack stations to do it.  Yes, the area around a pack station gets concentrated use.  This is hard on the trails and we know it.  That's one of the reasons I volunteer for the pcta in an effort to help them keep up with the maintenance that needs to be done.  I am not the only horseman doing this.  
 
I know everybody thinks pack stations are the "evil empire".  I can't speak for how any of them are doing, but one.  The pack station in my neck of the woods used to have 8 or 10 paying pack trips a year.  Last year they packed in a trail crew and re supplied them a few days later and that was it.  When times are lean, people just don't take the pack trips they used to.  And remember, the packer has to pay for pasture for their horses and mules all winter in the hopes of having a bang up summer.  Ask anyone who works in a seasonal business, from rangers to VVR, they'll tell you life can be difficult in recessions.  
 
I know that was a little off topic, but I have taken day rides and packtrips with packers and stables in my area and having services available to people like me means that trails around them can be in rough shape.  But it provides an alternative mode of transportation that is highly desireable to some people.  And just so you know, that pack station that didn't have any paying customers last year, they donated use of two of their best mules for me and my friend to pack saws and clear trail on the PCT in the forested areas of Lassen N.F. 
 
Charles Williams

--- On Thu, 12/15/11, Brick Robbins <brick at brickrobbins.com> wrote:


From: Brick Robbins <brick at brickrobbins.com>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Dogs in National Parks/horses/mules/llamas
To: "pct-l at backcountry.net" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011, 12:47 PM


On Thu, Dec 15, 2011 at 12:29 PM, Charles Williams
<charlesnolie at yahoo.com> wrote:
> And this too, I'd just asoon that horses did less damage to the trail too.  Some people think that horsemen, by virtue of the fact that they ride and lead horses and mules, care less about our wildlands than hikers do.<

IMHO, the amount of damage done by individual horsemen is negligible.

HOWEVER I have a beef with the damage done by the pack trains run by
the commercial pack outfits. I object to over use of public lands,
especially wilderness areas, by commercial concerns.

There is nothing wrong with stock on the trails. There IS something
wrong with overuse of the trails by commercial enterprises using
stock.

YMMV
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