[at-l] If you were new to the list....

[spiriteagle99 at hotmail.com (Jim and/or Ginny Owen)]

Weary wrote:
>Actually, my passion is for trails and the land needed for those trails and 
>to
>buffer those trails from development so that they may be reasonably remote 
>and
>wild trails.

We argued the fine points of that statement long ago - there's no point in 
doing so again.


>But the AT remains fragile and the pressures are growing that would make it 
>even
>more fragile. From time to time I mention the fragility of the trail and 
>some of
>the things that would help keep it a reasonably enjoyable and remote trail.

Fragile is in the eye of the beholder.  But I believe we can agree that wind 
farms with 450' lighted windmills are not desirable neighbors for the AT.


>Hikers whose only concern is a successful hike next year or in the next few
>years should skip over these posts, and should be sure not to miss Jim's
>insights into thru hiking, or OB's great knowledge of trail medicine.

Given a growing population, a shrinking budget and the changing political 
composition of this country, you might want to keep in mind that without 
those hikers, there would be no viable political reason for the AT to 
survive.  Da gubmint giveth - and da gubmint taketh away.  And that's not at 
all funny.


>However, despite Jim's impressive academic credentials, and career 
>experiences,
>and OB's professional qualifications, I don't find either a particularly 
>good
>mentor for preserving a trail for our children, grandchildren and future
>generations. Sadly, just the opposite is sometimes true.

You're much too pessimistic -

I and, I suspect, many of those on this list see the world differently than 
you.  I am not and will never be what you expect or want me to be.  I will 
always be both more - and less - than what you believe or expect.  By my 
choice.  So what you say above is most likely true - except for the last 
sentence.  But that's "your" opinion - and not something I need to argue 
about.

Nor is at-l what you want and expect it to be.  It was not conceived to be 
what you want it to be.  In fact, as you should have realized on both 
Trailplace and TA - what you want is not viable in this kind of forum unless 
you find a group of compliant sheep. By nature, hikers (and thruhikers in 
particular) will never meet that description.  Enjoy what you've got - like 
everything else in this world, it won't last as long as you'd like.  Nor 
will it ever meet all your expectations.

Personally, I'd like to see you come to the understanding that your 
dedication to your cause is both your strong point - and your blind spot.  
And that there's no need for others to believe in your cause to the same 
extent - as long as you do.  500 zealot-clones would be a far more dangerous 
threat to your cause than 500 passively supportive list members.  But I 
don't control your understanding either.  Nor would I want to.

Finally, if you're gonna be pessimistic, at least have fun with it -- try:
http://www.murphys-laws.com/

Walk softly,
Jim

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