[at-l] Baxter State Park History Question

[jbryankramer at msn.com (J Bryan Kramer)]

Well as I've said in the past, I don't own a cell phone and generally think
they are a plague on society. But I also note that my opinion and yours is
in the small minority. I do carry a couple of those small Motorola two way
radios and give one to the teens so that when they vanish from sight we can
still contact them.

However all this is moot, the AT is a publicly funded park and not a
wilderness park at that. The public deserves to get what it is paying for.
Too many people are stuck in front of the idiot box but making it harder for
them to enjoy the parks they are paying for is not the way to lure them away
from their addictions.

The conundrum that is if we succeed in pulling people out of their cities
and into the parks we don't like the crowds and the way they behave. If we
don't succeed, people may well lose interest in funding parks.

 I've watched with contempt the tour bus park visitors out in the western
parks like Bryce. These people pile on these buses, drive for many hours,
arrive at a park, make a 20 minute stop at the visitor center, then drive a
loop around the park with scenic stops for photos and then out the gate.
Total time in the park, maybe 90 minutes. And a 6 or 8 hour drive to get
there. But they like it and they probably will support park funding for
'their' parks.

You can't have it both ways, you can't deny folks access to what they
consider basic services, and rapid medical service would be at the top of
that list, and expect them to happily dig into their pockets to give you
money.

Bryan

 Lex et Libertas -- Semper Vigilo, Paratus, et Fidelis!
>
> >"...I am hearing the echoes of Edward Abbey in all this ultra-elitist
> >hate-humans cant. I have no objections to wilderness areas, we
> have several in
> >Florida. However no one tries to keep people from carrying
> cellphones or radios
> >in those areas. The Rangers have radios and if really needed I'm
> sure they
> >would call in a life-flight helicopter for a rescue. The AT corridor is
> >completely incompatible with a true wilderness area and  if
> Maine wants Baxter
> >to be such a wilderness then the AT should just be  rerouted
> around it. The AT
> >is a federal, publically funded park, part of the NPS and should
> not be made
> >dangerous for use by the public."
>
> Hey Bryan, Maine's Rusty was just making a cynical Maine in joke.
>
> But you are right, this debate has nothing to do with safety and
> a lot to do
> with political agendas. People walked the woods for millennia without cell
> phones.
>
> Any time people leave a paved path they are taking a risk. Most
> of us think the
> risk is worth it. I suspect woods walking extends the human life,
> that Vermont's
> Rusty thinks is sacred. We have become a nation of grossly fat
> couch potatoes.
> People need to be told to get outside and take risks. They need physical
> challenges, not coddling.
>
> There are obviously thousands of things humans can do to make
> woods safer. Two
> people have fallen off the ridge of the Gulf Hagas canyon in the
> past year and
> died. Should we build guard rails?
>
> The Knife Edge is a narrow rock scramble with thousand foot drop
> offs on each
> side. Shall we build hand rails? How about installing chain link fences?
>
> The elimination of radios in Baxter Park will have absolutely no
> impact on hiker
> safety. Rangers will still have the ability to use alternative
> communication
> devices.
>
> Baxter Park rules for several years have banned cell phones in the park by
> hikers. The rule is in response to the wishes of Gov. Baxter who spent a
> lifetime assembling the park and giving it to the state. Some
> 65,000 people use
> the park each year. Most seem to manage quite nicely without their phones.
>
> I suppose a few cheat and carry them anyway. But I haven't heard
> anyone claiming
> their phone saved them from getting hurt of from getting rescued.
>
> But Bryan it strikes me that your suggestion is a good way to
> gauge the public
> mood on this issue. Why don't you lobby Congress to route the
> trail away from
> the park because of the cell phone rules. Let us know what
> response you get.
>
> Weary
>
>
>
>
>