[pct-l] Trail Use Problem

[Edward Anderson]

Hi Ernie, 
 
There can be no compromise on this issue. Machines are not allowed on the PCT. Bikes on the PCT are illegal - and for very good reasons. The PCT is not a multiple-use trail. It is for foot traffic only, desginated as a National Scenic Trail in 1968. That was several years before the invention of Mountain Bikes - their use of the PCT cannot be "Grandfathered in" as it has been on some other National Scenic Trails that were designated after MB's were already using them. The PCT, as you know, is beautifully single track. Hikers and equestrians move at a much slower rate than do MB's. There are many downhill curvey places that some MBers would love to ride (fly) down at high speed. That is the thrill, the main reason they want to use the PCT. That would create danger for other trail users. The few Illegal bikers have already caused several accidents. Imagine what it would be like if the trail were open to all MB's - - - .

 

________________________________
 From: Ernie Castillo <erniec01 at hotmail.com>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net 
Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2012 1:44 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Trail Use Problem
  




Steeleye's perspective was right on the money. It inspired me to chime in.

I have been watching these discussion threads with interest as I see both sides of the coin. In 1980, I backpacked from Mexico to Canada at a time when section of the PCT included dirt roads and a stretch on the shoulder of paved roads. 

Today, at age 59, I ride a variety of bicycles over a variety of Michigan terrain, including pavement. I have seen most of Michigan from a bicycle seat (3,423 miles so far this year) but I have also seen the challenges of sharing multi-use trails and especially pavement. A month ago, while riding a road bike on a narrow country road, I was hit by a Cadillac driver blinded momentarily by the rising sun. I survived. Thank God.

As I contemplate retirement, my "bucket list" includes somehow connecting the dots between Acton and Tahoe to complete the portion of the PCT I missed in 1980 because of a severe leg injury suffered while walking on the Angeles Crest Highway past Wrightwood because the PCT was buried under snow and then walking down an incomplete trail toward Acton (the maps had led us to believe the trail ws completed in 1979 but the dynamited granite hadn't been cleared.) 

When I signed up for the PCT-L a couple years ago some generous fellow gave me Oregon and Washington badges. Being the honest person I am, I didn't ask for the California badge because I hadn't completed that state. It's been a dream ever since to finish the portion I missed.

Up until last year, I thought I could accomplish this on a bicycle. Indeed, there is a published route that parallels the PCT (if you don't zoom in on the map) but that involves riding a significant portion of Highway 395. Last summer, I tested out a small portion of Highway 395 just north of Cajon Pass. Ironically, I had a portion of that route all to myself because a fatal car accident shut down the highway for several hours. Once the highway reopened, and once I found myself on a stretch of highway with minimal shoulder and trucks zooming past me at 60-70 mph, I turned right at Adelanto toware my parents' house in Victorville. Highway 395 is renowned as a death trap and I have heeded advice from friends and family to abandon that plan.

I am going to research bikable roads -- paved roads, county roads, dirt roads, and whatever off-roads possible --  to get from Acton to  Kennedy Meadows or any nearby bikable point.

I promise I will not ride a bicycle, road, cross, or mountain, on any portion of the PCT.

I do believe the best way to travel from Kennedy Meadows to Tahoe is carrying a backpack and wearing hiking boots. (I won't get into the Trail Runners versus boots debate here.)

Connecting the dots will take more than 1 summer and it will take more than 1 means of transportation. But I hope to do it, eventually.

I continue to enjoy the PCT-L discussion threads, although I shudder at some of the venting. I hope a compromise can be reached to protect the trail from erosion and overuse and allow bicyclists the mean to get off the pavement and enjoy the roads less traveled. 

Ernie Castillo
PCT Class of 1980 (known as a Heavy Trucker by today's standards) and currently a dedicated bicyclist                           
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