responsibility, rescues, maintainers, trail angels, and advertisements... Re: [at-l] Crossing the Kennebec

[sloetoe@yahoo.com (Sloetoe)]

--- Bob Cummings <ellen@clinic.net> wrote:
> I want to be responsible and suffer the consequences of my own
> mistakes.
### Many are with you on that one, Weary, and not all of us are "39+"
years of age. But,...

> If it were my decision I would abandon all regulations aimed at
protecting hiker safety on mountains like Katahdin, Rainier and
Denali. I would also eliminate all rescue crews. If we choose to take
risks we should also choose to accept the consequences of those risks
and not risk others as a result of our choices.

### ...if we were to eliminate all the rescue crews (impracticalities
aside), then we'd be denying a *bunch* of backcountry travelors the
ability to "give back" to the trail community that they love, by
denying them rescue squad memberships -- whether they're ham radio
operators, cupcake bakers, EMTs, or just nutballs with tireless
treetrunk legs who step forward and say "Sure, I'll climb Mt. Omigod
again, just let me get my parka back on."

### ... which may be tantamount to denying volunteer maintainers the
method to give back to the trail that *they* can fit into *their*
lives. (Not that this isn't being done already... try to use a
chainsaw on a trail crew recently? Hoooo-boy.)

### ... and then bringing in the trail angel debate ("Is 'trail
angel-ing' a 'proper' activity... or does it destroy the AT's
'wilderness character'... or is it instead a traditional feature of a
throughhike experience?"

### ...which leads, by serpentine ways (if not indeed by switchback
trail) to "Should 'advertising' of trail-related commercial
enterprises be allowed on the AT as informational, or disallowed as
distraction from 'wilderness character'?"

Not fielding too many answers today...
Sloetoe

(Anywho, Weary, yes, there are those people who *want* rescue squads
as insurance for their inadequate preparation, but there's also them
as want to be *part*of* rescue squads, as a way to add value to their
own lives. To wave a wand and make the squads go away hits *both* of
them -- I don't think you saw the other side o' that one.)

=====
Spatior, Nitor, Nitor, In Nitor!

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