[pct-l] do you like to run on the PCT?

[Tom Grundy]

Seems like there are a lot of parallels between this topic and any other
same-trail-different-user conflicts.  The common thread seems to be: when
there are significant differences in travel speed, and travel
purpose/attitude, conflicts arise.  You would think it would be a common
goal of all the users to reduce conflict, but, the faster / larger vehicle
/ competetive / timed users pretty much always feel that the slower /
smaller vehicle / non-competetive / non-timed users are being silly and
have no real grounds to complain.

Take the mountain-bike-on-hiking-trail conflicts.  Last year on the Tahoe
Rim Trail, northbound to Mt Rose Highway, on a posted hiker-only day (bikes
are only 'allowed' every other day), we saw 9 cyclists in 4 groups, 2 of
them going around blind turns at very unsafe speeds (spoken as a mountain
biker), to the point they had to swerve to miss us, as neither saw the
other with more than a second or two of warning, while there were loads of
dayhikers including grammas and toddlers on the same trail.

Anyway - sure got my blood pressure up.  Apparently that means I am being
silly and have no real grounds to complain, that I should get used to it
and be more of a team player and get a life so I can focus on something
more productive.  That's where the difference in attitude comes in to play
of course.  "Don't Tread On Me" rings loud and clear.  Interesting insight
to where these folks' politics lie.  Shouldn't be a part of the trail life,
but, realistically, it is.  Or, "Just Don't Care, Can't Be Bothered".  Hats
off to those of you who choose to just move aside in the name of safety.

Try the shoe on the other foot: how about those same mountain bikes coming
downhill at high speed during a competetive trial running event, or, how
about dirt motorcycles on a mountain bike trail, or, cars on a sidewalk,
etc?  Are the smaller/slower vehicles being silly to point out that there's
a conflict there?

Trail runner conflicts: yes, 2 that I can think of: high school trail
running club with coach coming uphill that didn't want to yield to
backpackers coming down loose steep blind switchbacks; and, solo trail
runner coming up from behind on a cold morning (so my fleece headband was
on) - pretty much just startled the bejeeburs out of me, kept running, the
usual.  Of course we met several other solo trail runners where there was
no conflict - I don't really remember who yielded to who but everything was
copacetic.

Item 2: trash.  Remember when the eco-challenge races started to gain
popularity?  Wasn't there some legal action regarding the swath of trash
left in the wake?  A Colorado national forest sued the organizers to pay
for the cleanup crews (much more of a challenge since it was all
off-trail), and part of the outcome was that organizers would be required
to perform or pay for x number of hours of cleanup time?  Basically, if
you're not being timed or not racing against others, at least you have the
opportunity to take 2 extra seconds to give a hoot and pick up your trash
and take it to the next trash can; but, if you're in a race, if you take
those 2 seconds to give a hoot then you are at a competetive disadvantage
to those who just ditch it and let it be Somebody Else's Problem.  Is it
really that much of a news flash that competition - or, often, training for
competition - promotes selfishness, not just with trash, but with taking
the few seconds to follow standard yield guidelines, or for anything else
in life?

Anyway.  If anyone has read this far, perhaps you could help shed light on
any ideas you've got to reduce the conflict, rather than just rant on this
list?

On Sat, Mar 14, 2015 at 4:16 PM, Emily Toby <emilytoby at hotmail.com> wrote:

> I had the misfortune of hiking on
> the PCT the day the Timberline marathon was running the PCT between
> Timberline lodge and Clackamas Lake in Oregon many years ago.
>
> Not a single runner gave way, not the first runner, not the last, not
> going uphill or downhill, often in awkward places. And almost everyone
> expected me to get off the trail, and out of their way quickly, some very
> rudely.  It was interesting, at first.  It got so annoying, we just took a
> lengthy break and did 'the wave' sitting on a log next to the trail while
> the bulk of them ran by.
>
> There were signs and race markers on the trail, and no sign of a sweeper
> at the end of the race, or on the following day removing them. Then there
> was the disapointment  I felt when I realized 'TM' wasn't trail magic
> (Timberline Marathon).
>
> Nope, I'm not a fan of organized events on the trail. Very different from
> the solitary or small group of runners trail running.  IMHO.
>
> ÜberBitch
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Mar 14, 2015, at 1:24 PM, marmot marmot <marmotwestvanc at hotmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > Of course I have.
> > Marmot
> >
> > Sent from my iPhone
> >
> >> On Mar 14, 2015, at 11:06 AM, Brick Robbins <brick at brickrobbins.com>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> 2015-03-13 21:38 GMT-07:00 Dan McKean <danlmarmot at gmail.com>:
> >>> More to the point: I don't want to be asked, commanded, or bullied to
> step
> >>> aside so some competitor on the PCT can shave a few milliseconds off
> their
> >>> course completion time.
> >>
> >> Has that ever happened to you?  Have you ever been to a trail running
> >> event, or met a trail runner out on the trail?
> >>
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