[at-l] The "Right" to Solitude (was: ATC ad policy)

[jmayer@rochester.rr.com (Jim Mayer)]

Weary,

Oh, I do understand, and you're right... most people don't.  Our culture has
a well developed sense of the "right" of individuals to DO things, but very
little feeling for the "right" to be left alone.  Lots and lots of people
feel they have a right to drive ATVs through state and national forests, but
there is little recognition of my right not to be assulted by buzz of
internal combustion engines.  Think Jet Skis.

The funny part is that the idea is out there... just suppressed.  One of the
basic ideas of "freedom" is that you have the right to do whatever you want,
but only to the point where your actions affect me.  You don't have the
right to dam the stream going through your property because that will cut
off my water, and you don't have the right to play your stereo at full blast
out of your window at 3am in the morning (college campuses excepted).
Unfortunately, while you and I may want to go into the woods to find
solitude, lots of other people go into the woods to escape from the confines
of society.  For them, the woods are a place they can go have a wild party
and not bother "anyone".  In the woods, they, too, can leave civilization
behind.

It's the same thing over and over again... equestrian riders want to use the
trails, but what about my "right" to smell the woods instead of horse shit.
Mountain bikers want the freedom to ride, but what about my "right" to not
have people wizzing by me.

Unfortunately, the answer to all of this is both simple and nearly
impossible:

(1) Motors don't belong in the wild.
(2) Neither do boom boxes.
(2) Equestrians, mountain bikers, and hikers should have their own trails.

The reason for (1) is that motors make too much noise.  They destroy every
other user's sense of solitude.

Ditto for (2).

The reason for (3) is that while there is nothing wrong with any of the
three uses (they all look like fun to me), they just aren't compatible with
each other.  Horse trails need to be built like roads in order to hold up, I
can't imagine that horses like mountain bikes wizzing by, and mountain bikes
are just too fast and jarring to share the trail with hikers.

One reason this is impossible is that there is no way to separate Americans
from their toys.  Another reason is that there just aren't enough good
places to put trail.  The AT may be an exception because of the huge
investment that people put into it.  Almost everywhere else, however, trails
mostly run on abandoned roads, or old rail beds, or along natural ridges.
It's just too much effort to cut new trail.  But there are only so many old
railroad grades, and who's going to get to use them?

The result is the push towards "multiple use" trails, which just don't work
well for hikers.

What does this mean for the AT (a trail I've barely been on)?  I hear a lot
of talk about the AT and wilderness, but, oddly, I think of the AT at a
wonderful achievement of civilization.  The AT exists because thousands of
people work together on it.  It is a shared idea, and every much a product
of civilization as a symphony or a skyscraper or the Brooklyn bridge.  So
for me, the idea of an ad book in shelters, or named road crossings, is ok,
even fitting.  On the other hand, my skin literally crawls at the idea of
having to listen to someone call his stockbroker on a cell phone.

This is getting depressing.  On the bright side, though, there are still
trails where you can walk for a week and only see one or two other people.
There are certainly quite a few in Pennsylvania.  Some of the are very
lovely (though many are threatened).

-- Jim

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Cummings" <ellen@clinic.net>
To: <at-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2001 8:21 PM
Subject: Re[2]: [at-l] ATC ad policy


> "... If you don't want to be
> bothered by all that civilization junk, just keep walking. "
>
> Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Some seek the trail to gain a sense
of wildness. The knowledge
> that directions to civilization, pizzas, a ride, whatever ... is available
by simply opening a book, or asking your shelter mates
> mate to borrow their cell phone, destroys that sense of wildness. I don't
expect many to understand this.
> But it is a fact. Let's expand the concept of "leave no trace" to not
leaving psychic intrusions
> either.
>
> Will this happen? No. Almost no one has any idea what I'm talking about.
But I'll probably keep
> talking anyway in hopes of finding an occasional kindred soul to
commiserate with.
>
> Weary
>