[pct-l] Space for Bikes

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good evening,

Thinking about bike use on the PCT I like to step back a bit and look at
the whole picture.  Most of the PCT is on public land; substantially
administered by either the USFS or the BLM.  The small remainder is private
land or public land administered by the Natl. Park Service, etc.

In the three-state length of the PCT, here’s the scoreboard of USFS and BLM
land:

California has 36,000,000 acres,

Oregon has 31,400,000 acres,

Washington has 9,700,000 acres.

That totals 77,100,000 acres, all of which is available for bikes except
for a small amount designated as PCT, wilderness, and Natl. Park.

The PCT is 2,650 miles long and 2 feet wide.  There are 43,560 square feet
per acre.  That means the total area of the PCT equals about 640 acres.  The
PCT is then 0.00083% of the available public lands in the states that it
crosses.

In view of that, are bikers really deprived if they can’t use that 0.00083%?

Steel-Eye

-Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/