[pct-l] New PCT Rules in Southern California Forest Lands

[Bob]

Done.  Thanks for posting the site.

Dr Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Todd McMahon
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2014 11:46 AM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] New PCT Rules in Southern California Forest Lands

Hikers, please go to this page
https://cara.ecosystem-management.org/Public//CommentInput?Project=3375
And voice your support of the Forest Service Protecting the Pacific Crest Trail. Again, Mountain Bikers are voicing their opinions that they should be allowed on the trail. The plan specifically calls for the trail to be protected for hikers and horseback riders. Information about the plan can be found by clicking on "go back to main project page."  Then click on "Detailed Proposed Action" and keep scrolling down to the part about the PCT

I have wrote my comments to the Forest Service. Please go and write your own comments on preserving the PCT. The DEADLINE is Sept 29. Here is my
letter:

I think it’s great that this plan is taking steps to preserve one of our National Treasures, the Pacific Crest Trail. When the trail was established by Congress, an Advisory Committee for the trail was created to work out the details and report back to Congress. The Advisory Committee decided that Hiking and Horseback Riding are the intended activities for the trail.
One of the activities the PCT needs to be protected from is Mountain Biking. The PCT was authorized by Congress in 1968, so that was way before Mountain Biking even invented. The first commercially made Mountain Bike by a major manufacturer didn’t happen until the late 1970s.

I think it is really good that this plan addresses the Mountain Biking issue. It is really important that hikers and horseback riders can use the trail without the fear of having a mountain bike come barreling down the trail at them. Mountain Bikes can travel at a very high rate of speed, and have been known to spook horses. If bicycles are allowed on the PCT, horseback riders would be more wary of using the trail in fear their horses might get spooked. So, mountain bikers could easily displace horseback riders, one of the intended users of the trail.

Plus, the PCT is not designed and built for Mountain Biking. Mountain Biking Trails are designed and built with banked curves and rounded corners. The PCT uses sharp corners in several places where there are switchbacks. Since Mountain Bikes can travel at a higher rate of speed their trails need to be cleared with greater visibility, which is not the case with hiking and horseback riding trails. Also, Mountain Bikes damage the trail differently than hiking or horseback riding.

According to the law, motorized vehicles are prohibited on the Pacific Crest Trail. Bicycles are mechanical devices that can have motors mounted on them. Therefore, they do fall into the category of being a motorized vehicle. And, increasingly, bicycles do have electric motors mounted on them. Electric, pedal assisted bicycles are popular in Europe and are becoming more available in the United States. As I stated earlier in this letter, the first commercial made mountain bike didn’t happen until the late 1970s. Now mountain bikes are very popular. The same thing can happen with electric motor bicycles over the next 30 years. Eventually, bicycles with electric motors could become very common in the United States. I personally own two Mountain Bikes and would consider buying an electric motor pedal assisted mountain bike when the prices come down.

Furthermore, in a letter to a Mountain Biking Group, Forester Randy Moore wrote “Nation-wide the Forest Service provides the largest trail system in the nation with over 157,000 miles within the system. Outside of designated wilderness there are 125,962 miles of trail, of which 123,739 miles are open to mountain bicycling (98%) and 12,389 miles of trail managed specifically for mountain bicycling.” So, mountain bikers already have over
123,000 miles of trail they can use, and that’s just in our National Forests. That’s not counting other Federal lands like National Parks and Bureau of Land Management Lands and it’s also not counting State and Local Government lands. Singletraks.com currently reports that there are 655 mountain biking trails in California, 175 in Oregon, and 145 in Washington State. So, there isn’t a lack of places for mountain bikers to ride.

The Pacific Crest Trail is a rare trail. It’s a long distance hiking trail that is devoted to non-mechanical forms of transportation. It is worth preserving as a hiking and horseback riding trail for future generations.
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