[pct-l] Bicycle Usage Proposal (actually: motorcycles in the wilderness)

[greg mushial]

> Message: 2
> Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2010 20:38:03 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Fw:  Bicycle Usage Proposal
> To: Ron Dye <chiefcowboy at verizon.net>
> Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Message-ID: <796079.3553.qm at web111615.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
>
> Ron,
>
> You mention that you were "just kidding" about flattening their tires.? On 
> one
> occasion, back in the 1970's, I did just that.? My wife and I were 
> backpacking
> to the Emigrant Wilderness hiking from a TH near Cherry Dam.? When we came 
> to
> the sign indicating that we were at the boundary of the wilderness.? This 
> was a
> big sign located in the middle of the trail - the trail split around on 
> both
> sides of it.. We had been following motorcycle tracks.? We could see that 
> the
> motorcycle had stopped directly in front of the sign.? The rider had 
> obviously
> read the sign. Part of what it said was that motorcycles and bicycles were 
> not
> permitted in the Emigrant Wilderness.? The tracks then went around the 
> sign.? We
> followed them for several miles until we saw where they turned off the 
> trail.?
> We found the motorcycle fairly well hidden out of sight of the trail.? I 
> assumed
> that the rider had gone fishing.? So, what to do?? I got out my pocket 
> knife and
> simply cut off both valve stems.? I just couldn't resist doing that.?
>
>
> Here is another incident in my memory:? Someone had ridden their 
> motorcycle over
> Piute Pass from North Lake and on into Humphrey's Basin in the John Muir
> Wilderness? A Ranger caught him and required him to remove both wheels and
> physically carry them out and deliver them to the ranger station.? The 
> next day
> he had hike back up to carry out the rest of it.? That took two more 
> trips.?
> This happened in the late 1950's or early 1960's.?
>
> MendoRider?
>
>

Shades of the mid-60's and the Mather ranger station (HetchHetchy) - Tommy 
Tucker, station ranger there - good dude - found a fisherman down in 
Poopenaut Valley with his Trail-90: smashed the sparkplug, then made him 
push/carry it up out of there, then arrested him. If anyone has ever been on 
that trail...  it's hard enough just trying to walk it (one of the steepest 
trails I know of). That same summer he found another trail bike down there - 
found tire prints at the top of the trail and followed them down. This time 
it was a bigger bike, so he made the rider take the bike apart, and carry 
the pieces out one at a time, then put it back together...  after whch it 
was wheeled to the Mather station and chained and locked to a (large) tree, 
where it could be seen rusting years later. TT was a good dude, but you 
didn't want to get on his bad side.
TheDuck