[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[pct-l] Horses and Trail Damage

Hey!  I have this new contraption that carries people and gear into the
wilderness areas.  It isn't motorized so it can go anywhere that hikers
go.  It weighs about 2,000 pounds but puts all of that weight onto four
posts only about 5 to 6 inches in diameter.  Yes this applys quite abit
of pressure to the trail and therefore grinds up and pulverizes most
trail materials creating a powder/dust condition that at times hides
lurking rocks that can turn ankles of unsuspecting hikers and tends to
cause accelerated erosion.

Oh, and the contraption ejects some waste material onto the trail that is
biodegradeable over time but may attract certain insects in the short
term.  There are also emissions of fluid material that are precisely
timed to be emitted into bodies or streams of water.  This fluid material
can promote the growth of some wicked little bugs that make people sick
if they dont treat this water before they drink it.

Now I know it seems like there might be alot of objections to this
contraption but it is capable of enabling people who are otherwise unable
to access remote wilderness areas (and, well, yes also those who are too
lazy and unwilling to sacrifice the comforts of home for the experience
of the wilderness).

Now I'm applying for a permit to the National Forest Service to see if
they might have any objections to me taking this contraption into the
most delicate wilderness areas of the Western U.S.

What do think my chances are of getting approval?

I will not apoligize for my feelings on this matter.  When I'm told to
"get the hell off the trail!" by an ill mannered pack guide, leading ten
fully loaded pack horses along the pristine wilderness trail that I'm
trying to enjoy, and no one else that I have ever met on the trail has
spoken to me in that way (let alone anyway but in positive friendly
terms) and then this pack train leaves the trail in the conditions that
we are all familiar with, then I feel rather justified in being offended:
by the pack guide, by the horses/mules, and by the people who allow this
charade and insult to continue upon our National Wilderness Areas.  I'm
not even upset with the nice people who have paid this guide to take all
of their stuff up there.  They are meerly taking advantage of a system
that allows them an easy way to experience this.

If I owned a helicopter service I would be mad as hell that I'm not
allowed to drop people off and pick them up in wilderness areas.
Afterall the only impact a helicopter has, noise, is temporary.  Compared
to the damage and impact that horses place on the areas, a helicopter is
harmless.

Ah, now I feel better getting that off of my chest.

Strider

PS (Yes the logging matter is more serious.  However, all offenses to the 
trail are serious and should be addressed and curbed.)
* From the Pacific Crest Trail Email List | For info http://www.hack.net/lists *

==============================================================================