[pct-l] Trail Use Problem

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good afternoon,

In my view the move to open all or part of the PCT to bike usage isn’t
because of the trail’s unique contiguous nature or because of its scenery,
it’s because the PCT solves for them a fundamental public land trail
problem.

There already exist on public land some of the very best mountain biking
opportunities; much of which are at lower altitude and are closer to major
population centers.  Most of the tracts that were logged 10-50 years ago
have reproduced with wonderful, lush trees and other vegetation, and
importantly, they already have an extensive “trail system” in form of
gravel timber access roads, plus numerous steep skid roads and
cable-logging trails which are now mostly abandoned and partially overgrown.

The beauty of these abandoned road systems is that a biker can ride uphill
on the moderately graded timber access roads, then go screaming down any of
the steep skid roads, with all their turns and jumps, accumulating in the
process all the thrills, “road rash”, and bugs-in-the-teeth they want.  Terrain
damage isn’t much of an issue:  If the unit is ever to be logged again the
roads will have to be opened and reconditioned with heavy equipment
regardless of that the bikers do.

The problem is, many mountain bikers don’t like to use those lands.  They
prefer instead to poach on trails currently specified for foot-traffic.  Their
problem is similar to the problem hikers have with bikes on the PCT:  Hikers
don’t like to travel in fear that at any minute a rider on a fast machine
will come upon them and hit them or push them off the trail.

Bikers have that same fear because they too must share those wonderful
logged-over areas with others.  They fear peddling a 30-pound bike quietly
up a trail and encountering a 300-pound, 50-horsepower motorcycle speeding
at 40 miles per hour; or possibly worse, a 3,000-pound, 300-horsepower
macho-Jeep.  On logging trails mountain bikers aren’t the alpha-presence
that others must be on the look-out for; they are in effect, a third-tier
species.  Ironic isn’t it?

Steel-Eye

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

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

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/