Re: [pct-l] LNT and individual responsibility

[charliethorpe@worldnet.att.net (Charlie Thorpe)]

Hello Joanne -

Let's skip the red herrings and drop the thread back a couple of notches.

I did not (nor do I) accuse you of any type of Scout bashing.  I happen to
feel that both of the Scout-related issues you raised (outlaw Scout group
tossing rocks and opportunities for outdoor training for women) are great
topics for discussion and are quite valid in themselves as topics for this
list.  By all means, let's discuss them along with all the other topics
that we PCT users find ourselves interested in.  I just didn't mean to get
them mixed in with the LNT thread.

I did not (nor will I intentionally) post your private email to the list.
I chose to continue a public thread in public instead of taking it private.
If I somehow violated your privacy (I tried not to) I do apologize...I
don't think that such action is good for this forum nor does it reflect
well on whoever does it.  I want to keep this thread public because I think
that it (and all such discussion) is important to all of us who care about
the PCT.

Let's get real basic.

I own the PCT.

I have done all the things that it takes to be a contributing citizen in
this neat country of ours.  I am quite proud to be part of a political
system that is set up (by no accident) to allow me part ownership in
something as important as our public lands.  I take my citizenship
seriously.  Politically, I own the PCT.

I have walked the 2,600 miles of the PCT.  For 4 1/2 months of my life the
PCT was usually the first thing that I thought of when I woke up and my
last thought before I went to sleep.  Years later I still surprise myself
at odd times by reliving some of those wonderful moments in such detail
that I can taste the huckleberries and feel the cold wind in the high
passes.  Emotionally, I own the PCT.

I spend a lot of my time and $ on trail maintenance.  I have discovered
that I am a little more effective at pointing a pointer than I am at
swinging a pulaski, so I have spent a majority of my trail maintenance
efforts in "LNT" and "T.R.A.I.L. Boss" training, both in and out of the
Scouting context.  I have paid for my trail use in a very practical way
with my personal sweat, time, and $...I own the PCT.

In every way that I know how to measure, I own the PCT.

I feel pretty strongly that I have earned the right...and have assumed the
obligation...to take care of this trail that I own.

I have no interest in controlling your (or anyone else's) actions.  In
fact, other than normal curiosity about interesting people, I don't give a
hoot what actions you take or when you take them.

Unless those actions mess up my trail.

I suppose that I could hide in the chaparral and fuss at folks I see doing
damage to my trail.  Or I could probably use my citizenship to agitate for
more control by my hired guns (managing agencies) to zap the trail
destroyers (regulations, restrictions, citations, closures, etc.).  Or I
could try to use an educational approach that tries to gently make the
other owners of my trail aware of the inevitable consequences of our use.

I like the latter...it suits me, it's more fun, and it seems to work better
in the long run.

With some folks, anyway <g>.

I posted a message to PCT-L announcing an update to a previous set of LNT
postings.

You reacted strongly with a public message that was quite negative and
seemed to disparage both LNT (in general) and my postings on the subject to
PCT-L.

Guessing that you had no idea what my previous postings looked like, I sent
you a copy of them and asked your opinion on how they were inappropriate.

So far, virtually every objection that you have raised to LNT (in general),
I happen to agree with <g>.  We haven't yet gotten into a discussion on how
my postings might be made better.  I emphatically do NOT agree that it is
somehow incorrect to discuss LNT (or any other issue with potential
importance to our trail) on PCT-L.

I find that I am particularly interested in your response for a number of
reasons:

your past postings indicate that you are a person with substantial outdoor
skills and interests;

you have a well-developed plan to thru-hike my trail;

you are an eloquent writer and not the least bit bashful about making your
views known;

and you apparently have a strong negative reaction to LNT.

Sounds like somebody I would MUCH rather have on the side of truth and
justice <VBG>.

IMHO, the whole issue of dealing with appearance of "elitism" is of
critical importance to any "conservation" effort that needs to fly with the
general population if it is going to do any good.  I get the impression
that you have run into a little of that in your previous exposure to LNT.
Obviously that's bad...it turned your "LAT" friend off...and demonstrated,
once again, the law of "unintended consequences" (in spades!).

I felt so strongly on this issue that during my LNT Master Educator course
I did my student teaching exercise on "the importance of understanding how
a LNT audience relates to Maslow's hierarchy of needs"...complete with a
twig pyramid <g>.

Let's agree to disagree on discussing LNT on PCT-L.  Let's forget my feeble
efforts to get PCT users thinking about how we can use the existing
national LNT educational program to help us all minimize our personal
impacts to the backcountry.

Let's get real.

How DO we keep our trail from getting beat to pieces?

Trace No Leaves,

- Charlie II  AT (MEGA'93)
             PCT (Mex@Can'95)
        Chipping away at the CDT


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