[pct-l] running on the PCT

[Drew Smith]

Andrea, sorry I wasn't clear.  By "schedule around peak PCT herd times" I
meant schedule at different times in order to minimize conflict.  Even
though trail runners are going faster than hikers, they are not going
Mexico to Canada, so it is not inevitable that they will have to pass
through the herd.

As for your second question, I guess my answer would be "as a courtesy to a
fellow human being".  Just as I would do for a hiker who hikes faster than
me.  Of course numbers matter - stepping aside a few times a day is a
trivial inconvenience, while having to do it a hundred times in a couple of
hours is obnoxious.

I don't think a perfect solution is possible, but I am sure that there are
some pretty simple means to minimize conflict and build mutual respect and
support between the two groups.

Living in Boulder I encounter plenty of runners on the local trails.  Never
once has one been rude to me, even though my 120 lb Newf is often blocking
the trail when they come by.  They are just people doing their thing in a
pretty low-impact way on land that we all own and cherish.

Peace,
Happy Hour/Drew

On Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 12:24 PM, Andrea Dinsmore <
andrea at dinsmoreshikerhaven.com> wrote:

> Drew.....I am not a hiker or trail runner. I don't understand your
> reasoning on scheduling the trail runners at the same time the herd is
> heading north. Kind of like having a speed of 55 for semi trucks and 70 for
> cars on a one lane road. Another thought....why should a slow hiker be
> asked to side step the faster trail runner coming up from behind ??
>
> Andrea Dinsmore
>
> On Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 9:40 AM, Drew Smith <jdrewsmith at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I think this is the right approach - managing the problem rather than
> > trying to solve it.  People who try to solve problems invariably create
> new
> > ones.
> >
> > There is no way to ban trail runners, even if it were desirable, so the
> > question here is what to do about organized trail running events.  A
> > reasonable approach would be for the PCTA to reach out to the organizers
> > with our concerns and propose some mitigations that would give everyone
> > what they need (not necessarily all they want).  For example, we could
> > propose to limit the size and number of events; schedule around peak PCT
> > herd times; and most importantly, educate runners on trail courtesy and
> > best practices, as well as stewardship and volunteering opportunities.
> > I'll bet that most of the runners who have behaved rudely simply were off
> > in their own little world (just like hikers) and didn't realize the
> impact
> > of their behavior.
> >
> > This approach would create allies rather than adversaries, which is
> always
> > a lot more effective in the long run.
> >
> > Happy Hour
> >
>