[pct-l] Fire Closures in General

[Kent Spring]

> From: Lou Filliger 
> To outsiders, it can look like big-brotherism.  But I
> suggest that it's really laziness or 
> indifference more than that.  If 10 people will tell them
> to close the trail, and 5 people 
> will ask them to open it, then the trail stays closed.  If
> on the other hand 15 people ask 
> them to open it, then the trail opens.

I would agree with a few of the recent posts, but I would offer one other thought:  hikers, and especially long-distance and thru-hikers, are a small percentage of the population that the Forest Service is concerned with.  They don't usually just close trails - they close whole sections of forests - and the top bureaucrats often barely think about hikers.  We need to be "squeaky wheels" and let our voices be heard.

On a parallel, but earlier thread, someone was angry about the possibility that two of our hiking stars (Joe and Scott) apparently hiked thru an active fire area.  I was talking with a friend who is hiking with the "herd".  She bumped into the speedy duo, and said that one or the other said that walking thru the fire area was "the dumbest thing he had ever done."  I am paraphrasing, so don't quote me... but these aren't guys who flaunt the rules, but do understand that, as hikers, the closure signs really don't reflect the conditions on the trail.

Kent