[pct-l] Marathons in the Wilderness

[CMountainDave@aol.com (CMountainDave@aol.com)]

In a message dated 10/30/01 4:20:53 PM, reynolds@ilan.com writes:

<< I for one welcome Marathons in the wilderness or any other use which does

not distroy the environment.  >>

Tom, I promised not to philosophise about why we have wilderness and I intend 
to keep it. Instead, I'll refer you to the USFS, NPS, and PCTA. Perhaps these 
stewards of the land can explain to you why running organized marathons in 
wilderness areas ain't cool and are banned on trails like the JMT and places 
like Olympic National Park. I'm just guessing, but I bet it' just might have 
to do with group limits and appeasing selfish jerks like me who want quotas 
in wilderness areas to keep them feeling like wilderness instead of city 
parks. And while your at it why don't you ask them why we have wilderness 
areas at all instead of a bunch of national recreation areas where harmless 
things like snowmobiles and dirt bikes ( they don't REALLY affect the 
ecosystem, just cause so called unsightly ruts) are allowed. And while your 
at it ask them why we can't have a little selective logging to clear out the 
dead fall and help pay for the upkeep to save us some of those tax dollars 
libertarians so abhor. Might as well ask them to throw in a few lodges with 
TV's and restaurants to keep the masses from getting bored on rainy days. 
They ain't gonna affect the ecosystem, either.
Ron Yup no doubt about it, Brian saw way more than I did during his hike. But 
I believe he said at times he felt like he was on a bus tour with no time to 
really get to know the places he was passing through. But I guess it's all 
relative. People who toured a bunch of National Parks by car saw more than me 
too. Guess I lose on that score. Oh well