[at-l] Ramble on A Question Of Trail

[thornel@attglobal.net (W F Thorneloe)]

I think the ATC still has some information about the settlement on their 
main news page. However, a Google search should come up with much material.

This is a mountain that the AT runs along up in Maine, originally with a 
fairly narrow boundary for the trail. The AT shares the mountain with a 
private land owner/developer who has run a ski resort for several years, 
with varying degrees of success. Plans were announced to significantly 
increase the development of ski trails and other amenities on his property, 
contiguous with the trail and in obvious view. A few counter proposals were 
offered for less development, sale of the property, huge development and so 
forth. Negotiations dragged on for a few years, with a self appointed 
expert pontificating which result was to be the only true believer view, 
with the demands that email campaign be filtered through a specific 
web-based voice. Those who failed to follow such "advice" were not pure 
enough to belong to that web / e-list further. There were many other means 
to express one's opinion, obviously, but this was one of those litmus tests 
that were occasionally required.

Eventually a settlement was announced with no one feeling particularly 
happy with the result, which often is a mark of a pretty good compromise. 
Much of the emotions over Saddleback involve other Internet/AT 
personalities and other politics. I think it is used as a weapon to club 
others into submission, much as the Spanish Inquisition really made a bunch 
of good public relations for the past 5 centuries.

OrangeBug

At 05:17 PM 4/3/2002 -0600, Shane Steinkamp wrote:
>For those of us who have no idea what Saddleback is/was/will
>be, has anyone a reference that we can look up?