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[pct-l] Horse Free PCT? / Horse Droppings
- Subject: [pct-l] Horse Free PCT? / Horse Droppings
- From: campydog at verizon.net (Campy)
- Date: Thu Apr 8 18:57:05 2004
Hello:
I enjoyed reading Mr. Payne's message regarding the presence of horse
packers on the PCT and I'll add my point of view. And I returned just
now to this line to add "lengthy" - I'm sorry 'bout that - I got
carried away.
I'm a dedicated horse user but I don't ride horses. I rode one once - a
rented, old but very safe horse for me and my five year old son, and we
returned without objection to the horse corral way before our time was
up because my steed wanted it to be so. And a horse ride will be a
necessary part of an upcoming trip which my wife and I will be taking,
and this will involve a boat of some kind on the Salmon River. I'm
already uncomfortable over this prospect but, happily, I'm told that
it's only for three hours one-way, this being exactly half of a two-way
excruciating horse trip.
But, personals aside, please let me build my case now, suddenly once
again as a horse user. This, because I work on the PCT, and I or my
trail boss (who may frequently be myself) depend upon horses and the
mules with whom our crew can do our work. This whole subject of
equestrian trail use is in my mind a perfect case of: without horses
historically there would be no trail (read PCT); and without horses
today that trail would be quite an unreliable and chaotic mess.
Hikers are great and they alone could make great trails. Native
Americans made great trails. I don't intend to diminish hikers, since
although I already admitted to not being a horseman, I won't admit to
not being a former trail hiker. I hiked many trails to get to my peaks
as a peak climber and expeditionary mountaineer, and I climbed or led
team climbs on more than just a few of the world's major mountain peaks
by using trails to get to them.
But I realize my own shortcomings and those of my hiker friends when
faced with the realities of our own trail payback desires - enthusiasm
aside, we alone aren't physically able to supply the logistics needs
for us fifteen souls. Include me in this group now, since I somehow
slipped into the happy predicament of spending a week at a spike camp
to improve the PCT in my own way. We simply have to appreciate the
volunteer effort of a group of horse-men and horse-women who have a
love for the PCT just as ourselves, that is similar to our own
hiker-love of the PCT.
The present system, as I view it, is good and is working successfully.
We have the best talent in the PCT-overview agencies who want to do
what's best for the trails within their respective districts. The PCT
is doubly included, financially on an annual basis, because our
congress mandated it to be so, and these agencies do bring back each
season returning wilderness trail crews par excellance. These
professional men and women and their trail supervisor with whom we
work, loan us tools and train us in how to maintain our trail. In spite
of a few of the non-involved who will nevertheless write to suffer on
us their opinions regarding diminishing agency funding levels, our
wilderness will see a return once again of the good seasonal forest
workers and supervisors we have seen in past years. As pertains present
PCTA and agency goals, and I particularly point to those of the Inyo
National Forest, the PCT will thrive and be maintained by both
professional INF and volunteer entities within our matrix, including
our partner volunteer animal packers of the Eastern Sierra Unit of the
Back Country Horsemen of California.
Ok, now I'll address the unsavory subject of horse hockey which, when
consciously looked for, can be found on the PCT. Hey, it's there, I
have viewed it myself: fly-infested junk sometimes grievously
preceding the hapless hiker by a mere quarter of an hour. One of my
volunteer packers who, in a semi-confession of responsibility I
suppose, said that it's "nothing but grass!" (Meaning that if you
up-rank this substance with the complexities of human feces, advanced
study might indeed reveal important clinical differentiations.) Well,
I'll only suggest that it might indeed be "fermented" grass, yet we
won't exactly enjoy the flies that hang around it for several hours
afterward. But if you were possibly me and knowing that my volunteer
packers are just ahead, you could happily accept without exactly
kissing the stuff that this means food supplies and my kitchen will
soon be at hand, with which I as cook can begin to do my own work for
the PCT and its trail crew.
That's it, and I do appreciate both the server time and your attention.
I always read everybody's remarks attentively to learn more about the
PCT, but in the immortal words of Captain Kirk: "Don't ever bad-mouth
horses or mules on this ship." Uh, he might not have used those exact
words, but, uh, they would have sounded that way if he had said it
himself.
==^=============================
Campy
Central California Trail Coordinator
"Home of the High Sierra Trail Gorillas"
Pacific Crest Trail Association
Bishop CA Tel.: 760-872-2338
Email: tap "Reply"
http://www.trailprojects.com or
http://www.trailvolunteer.com click on PCT
"Time spent doing trail work shall not be deducted from your life!"
==^