[pct-l] wheeled backpack

[Bob]

He walked on roads, not trails.

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of Devon Taig
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2013 3:22 PM
To: David Ellzey
Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] wheeled backpack

Anyone heard of George Meegan?  http://george-meegan.blogspot.com/  He
walked some 19,000 miles from the tip of South America to northern Alaska.
 His pack had wheels.

River

On Mon, Jan 21, 2013 at 1:01 PM, David Ellzey <david at xpletive.com> wrote:

> My job requires me to work with the ADA (specifically, section 508a) 
> frequently and I think there is a basic misunderstanding going on 
> here. The ADA primarily establishes that managers of property to 
> provide equitable access to people with disabilities under penalty of 
> law. There are however exclusions and some of you have pointed out that
the PCT is one of those.
> In that the agencies managing the trail are exempt from providing 
> equitable access to people with disabilities, you are correct.
>
> However, this only means they are not required to grade it to 7%, pave 
> it 36" wide with curbs and install guard rails. It does not in any way 
> mean that those agencies can deny access to a disable person in a
wheelchair.
> Hypothetically, if a wheelchair were invented that could handle the 
> trail as it exists, then a legally disabled person who required such a 
> wheelchair could use it on the PCT, even if that device were 
> motorized. Given the difficulty of the trail, I think it will be a 
> long time before any such wheelchair is invented. In the meantime it 
> seems that livestock is the closest thing and its inherently legal.
>
> So in short, the wilderness agencies are excluded from conforming to 
> access standards but cannot deny special access.
>
> Back to the original post about the wheeled backpack. Unless your son 
> is legally disabled then the short answer is no. If he is, I would say 
> it's a horrible idea as having a bunch of weight on a wheel behind you 
> sounds like a balance nightmare, especially on steep downhill 
> sections. I would also venture to guess that the added weight of the 
> wheeled rig makes it a poor choice in comparison to the ultralight 
> approach. If your base weight with a wheeled pack is 20lbs and it 
> takes half that weight off your back then you can get a similar result 
> with a 10lbs base weight without all the complications of a wheel on a 
> rough path. Finally mass is mass, even if it has wheels. You are 
> adding mass to ease the weight bearing on his back but he would still 
> have to haul that extra mass up and down hills. It would take its toll.
>
> BigToe
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