[at-l] A difficult decision

[revmrf@xxxxxxxxxxx (Martin Fors)]

Hi,

I thought I'd share this with you all.  I may get flamed, I may not however,
I hope you'll respect my decision:

Today, I received my 2nd and, threatening to be my last renewal notice from
the AMC.  I've decided not to renew my membership.  I was a difficult and
emotional decision because I have supported the AMC in many ways over the
years; I have friends who work for the AMC whom I respect and admire; and
the AMC has responsibilities for a large section of the AT , as well as many
other trails.

But my reasoning has a number of factors.  I'll list just a few of them, and
not in any priority sequence:

1.  The Boston, Joy Street location:  It seems to me that the AMC could
relocate its headquarters from this swank location and save many thousands
of dollars, annually.

2.  How can the AMC justify having paying its president with a six digit
figure?  How about the other employees at the Joys Street location, what $$$
do they make?

3.  Many thousands [millions?] of contributors dollars are going into a new,
plush center at Crawford Notch.  What's the vision behind such an edifice?
[Yes, I've read the data supporting such a place.]

4.  The hut system:  Notwithstanding the known problems and expense dealing
with human waste in the high country, more and more hikers simply cannot
afford to stay at the huts.  A family of 5 must expend 68 dollars, more or
less, per person to stay overnight and be fed.  The expense of the hut
system seems to only serve the wealthy.  Overnight hiking in our beautiful
high country should be for all and not limited only to those with the bucks.

5.  A pet peeve:  Occasionally a hut is completely 100% reserved for an
organization [college outing clubs, etc.] leaving other hikers to fend for
themselves, whether they are AMC members or not.  Tough marbles for you if
you hiked in on a threatening, violent day, find another place to stay.
And, don't you dare try to stealth.

I could go on but you get the idea.  What will I do?  I'm going to divert my
money and time support to the Green Mountain Club who've just lost an old
barn to fire, where they've been storing historical items, and other trail
folks like the ATC and ALDHA.   'Nuff said.   rusty