[pct-l] US National Park Service recognizes mountain biking, etc.

[vichanson at hotmail.com (Vic Hanson)]

As a hiker and a mtn. biker I would like to comment on the new agreement to 
allow biking on roads in the Nat. Parks.  Most of my mtn. biker friends are 
also hikers, as well as involved in many other outdoor activities like 
camping, rock climbing, even horse back riding. Hey, that sounds like "multi 
use" of our outdoor areas! As bikers we yield to hikers and horses (which I 
personally don't like on the trail, I don't like to bike or hike in manure). 
Someone commented that most hikers don't like to "road walk", which is a 
good point. It is not going to affect the majority of hikers, who are on the 
trails. What is the problem with letting bikers on the roads? As a hiker, I 
will bushwhack (if legal) or walk an old unmaintained trail (with pruning 
shears in hand) to avoid a road walk if possible. As a mtn. biker I will 
also avoid a "road ride" whenever possible, unless I am just out for a 
"conversational" ride with a friend. My motto is "almost any single track is 
better than any road", either for hiking or biking.

I realize that there are some mtn. bikers that give us all a bad name by not 
using the trails properly, or riding on trails that are closed to bikers. I 
do not agree that we should have access to all trails, especially the "long" 
trails like the PCT, AT, etc, and I did not ride on the PCT when I lived in 
CA. However there are also some hikers who hike on closed trails, camp 
illegally, cut switchbacks and place dangerous obstacles on trails that are 
legal for biking, to hurt bikers. Does this mean that we should try to ban 
all hikers from the trails? Of course not. Besides, I have been guilty of 
some wrongs both hiking and biking at times, as I'm sure many of you have. 
Did I forget to mention not using bear canisters where required? Or is that 
different because it is a law you don't agree with? We all have our biases, 
justifications and excuses, but don't like to forgive the other person for 
theirs. I'm not saying that anyone should be able to do anything they want, 
I am saying that none of us are perfect and we need to remember that before 
we start throwing stones at others. We can politely respect the right to 
disagree and enjoy our common love for the mountains, trails and wilderness. 
I just got back on the list after over a year's absence and I feel like 
joining Mike and unsubscribing. However as a prospective member of the PCT 
class of 2006, I'm hoping to learn things from all of you that will prepare 
me for a great hike next year. I hope to see you at ADZ, get a little water 
from a cache if I need it, and enjoy the hospitality and help of Donna and 
the other angels, and then to encourage and help someone else fulfill their 
dream in the future.

Dios les bendiga, from Peru, where I am serving as a missionary and am 
sharing the trails with passed out drunks, women carrying babies on their 
backs, a load in one hand, trailing a child with the other, old people with 
loads of firewood, alfalfa, or corn stocks on their back, farmers carrying 
machetes, shovels, or even a wooden plow, and countless cows, bulls, pigs, 
sheep, goats, llamas, burros, mules, horses, chickens, torrents of water 
(some trails double as irrigation canals) and today a downhill mtn. bike 
race.

Vic Hanson