[pct-l] Horse encounter with illegal MTBs

[Eric Lee]

Brick wrote:
>
I'd like to be able to walk on a trail without fear of being assaulted by a
cyclist traveling at high speed.
>

I'm pretty sure that Dan isn't arguing against that.  He's just saying that
acting in an *aggressive* manner toward mountain bikers on the PCT is
probably going to be counter-productive in the end.  Any biker who's
genuinely on the PCT by accident or ignorance isn't going to leave with good
feelings about hikers after been yelled at or threatened, and any biker
who's there on purpose in defiance of the rules isn't going to suddenly see
the error of his/her ways after being yelled at or threatened.  In the
latter case, being yelled at or threatened will probably just strengthen
their resolve and knocks the hiker off the moral high ground.

The course of action with the highest likelihood of producing desirable
results is simply to passively refuse to yield, perhaps accompanied by a
gentle, non-threatening explanation of why you're doing that if they ask.
Yes, I know it doesn't *feel* like the most productive course of action.
Yelling and threatening feels better.  But I think history shows that
non-aggressive resistance usually produces the best results in the long run.

Eric