[pct-l] Proof of a Bear-Can

[mellowmarky at cox.net (Mark Wright)]

On Oct 12, 2004, at 7:56 PM, Marion Davison wrote:

> The most disturbing trend I have seen in the backcountry is the  
> numbered, assigned campsite, such as we now find in Paradise Valley  
> and Mokelumne "wilderness" just south and west of Carson Pass.  If I  
> want to be forced to stay in a numbered site, I will go car camping.   
> I started backpacking because I hate car camping!


The point of designating campsites like this is to limit impact.  
Camping really is a high impact activity because you spend several  
hours during an evening or longer walking around camp, which is a  
pretty small area, compacting the soil. Even if you only pitch a tent  
or lay down a tarp, fix dinner, go to bed and leave in the morning you  
are still taking many steps in a small area and spending hours laying  
your 120+ lb body on the ground. Multiply that by all the people who  
camp in the same spot. This trampling will kill the grass and flowers  
in the immediate area and compact the soil to the point that the ground  
is too hard for grass and other plants to grow back.

By requiring you to camp in specific areas they can minimize the  
damage. Then they can eventually move the camp to another spot nearby  
and close off the old campground so that it can be rehabilitated. So  
you see, there is a method to the madness. Obviously, this is not  
necessary everywhere because some places get less traffic than others.  
But some places, like scenic lakes, are popular camping destinations  
where the impact is greater. This is where campsites need to be managed  
more closely.

So really, the "disturbing trend" isn't that some backcountry campsites  
are numbered. This is just a symptom of another even more disturbing  
trend - more people are going camping. What we need to do is spearhead  
a campaign to discourage people from entering the wilderness. If  
successful we will reverse the human impact on the wilderness to the  
point where we, those who are truly worthy, can camp wherever we please  
and we won't need to carry bear canisters anymoe because the bears will  
no longer be habituated to the presence of humans and our food. Who's  
with me?


Mark

by the way,  in case you didn't notice I was kidding about that last  
part.

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