The thing I want to take issue with in this debate is the way in which less-experienced hikers are somehow looked upon as less deserving to be on the trail. If water caches "enable" (in the words of Donna) more hikers- is this a good thing or a bad thing? Isn't it better for there to be more hikers on the PCT, so as to have more passionate advocates for the trail that we love? We need the long distance hiking community to expand, not become more exclusive. The trend in wilderness management these days is towards so called "front-of-the-mountain" activities-- day hikes, ATVing, fishing, etc. (
i.e. things that can be easily done in a day and doesn't require huge planning like a backcountry trip.) Wouldn't it be better to have more, properly educated in LNT principals hikers so as to be passionate users of and advocates for wilderness areas/experiences? Why make the PCT more exclusive? Don't we want more people "on our side"? More donations to the PCTA? Grumpy comments about hikers being "enabled" is not the way to welcome and expand the LDH community, right?
<br><br>YITOOD,<br><br>Easy<br><br>PCT 2007<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Dec 31, 2007 10:01 PM, Len Glassner <<a href="mailto:len5742@gmail.com">len5742@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div class="Ih2E3d">On 12/31/07, robo hiker <<a href="mailto:robohiker@hotmail.com">robohiker@hotmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>> is it<br>> considered poor form to let my dog to run around off it's leash while<br>
> talking on my cell phone? ;-D<br>><br><br></div>Now there's something I'd really like to see - a dog running around<br>off it's leash, talking on your cell phone. Photos?<br><br>I thought Ken and Marcia Powers' walk along the ADT was a wonderful
<br>accomplishment. But I now wonder...did they have permission to place<br>all those caches along the trail in the southwest?<br><br>I sure hope the traffic on this topic dies down. The roar of DELETE<br>keys being pressed all over the world is beginning to have an
<br>environmental impact.<br><br>And now back to our regularly scheduled alcoholic binge.<br><div><div></div><div class="Wj3C7c">_______________________________________________<br>Pct-l mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Pct-l@backcountry.net">
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