[at-l] A bit of everything...

[JoelFromFlint@aol.com (JoelFromFlint@aol.com)]

Just caught up on a week's worth of digests, and figured I'd weigh in briefly 
on a few recurring topics:

SUVs: Okay folks, let's be honest. SUVs are gas-guzzling, 
small-car-squashing, air-polluting and sometimes wilderness-wrecking beasts. 
When people complain about them, they aren't complaining abotu YOUR vehicle, 
but about the class of vehicles. There are excellent reasons for some people 
to own them (especially people who might frequent the AT-L), and I looked at 
a couple models seriously when I was car shopping (before I decided to stick 
with my beat up pick-up). There is very little reason the roads need to be 
covered with them - especially since 98% of those people will never drive on 
dicey FS two tracks, and 50% will never even see snow. Part of the problem is 
a loophole that exempts them from status as passenger vehicles - and the more 
rigorous standards that would apply. Sales are already slumping, and with gas 
prices rising and the glamour wearing off, hopefully they will return to 
being what they were designed as - specialty vehicles for the people that 
need them.

Baltimore Jack: Never met the guy and wouldn't recognize him on the street. I 
will say that as an aspiring thruhiker, his advice on maildrops, 
white-blazing and trail towns were the most important pieces of on-line 
information I've ever gotten. Good hard facts presented in a concise and 
clever way. I do wish he would contribute more on this list, but I also know 
he cares deeply about the Trail and those who try to hike it.

Trail Days: Maybe I'm missing something here, but $10 for five nights of 
camping? I've been involved in promoting not-for-profit events for 15 years, 
and know that nothing is free. That token amount sounds totally reasonable. I 
was disturbed (but not surprised) that the guy in charge has been getting 
nasty e-mails and viruses sent to him, and also found the vaguely threatening 
e-mail he quoted to be quite saddening. Something to the effect of 'don't be 
surprised if there is more vandalism because hikers are upset about the fee.' 
Translate that as 'some complete drunken idiots will use the fee as an excuse 
to screw things up for everyone else.' Nobody is forced to go to Trail Days, 
any more than they are forced to stay at a particular hostel. I've got an 
idea, if you really don't want to play by the rules, then teach Damascus a 
lesson and don't go to their little party! That will learn them.

Veggies: Yes, some of them use leather boots, so what? This isn't a purely 
theoretical issue. The great part of living a lifestyle that conciously tries 
to have less impact on our world is that every little bit helps. If you used 
to eat steak seven days a week, and now only eat it five, then you're 
helping. This is a world of compromises, but the less we make the better. If 
you are Leaving No Trace, but your dinner is wrecking half of Nebraska, there 
is a problem. Large-scale production of food animals is tough on the 
envionment (note the hog farms in NC, chickens in Arkansas, cattle all over 
the west etc.), introduces harmful chemicals into our diet and water supply, 
breeds nasty diseases, wastes feeds that would otherwise go towards human 
consumption, and often forces animals to live and die in unspeakably horrible 
conditions. I'm not a vegetarian, but I do limit how much meat I eat, and 
visit our farmer's market to only eat local free range products and produce 
whenever possible. This is one of those areas where I do what I can, and am 
careful not to attack those who do more or less (and there are lots doing 
better than me). PETA doesn't think we should be in the stone-age - they 
think eating and wearing animals is keeping us there.

I like this list because it has so many smart folks who feel passionately 
about things that matter. Let's use some more reason and less vitriol and 
will keep even the heated discussions productive. See, I even avoided 
mentioning G_ _ _ N _ _ _ _ _ , who is probably standing in the rain, talking 
on a hand-held communication device, and pointing a weapon at B_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
_ J _ _ _ as we speak. For everyone off to the Ruck(s), have a great time and 
be sure to fill us in on ALL the juicy details, Joel from Flint

--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
  text/html
---