[at-l] the 'rules' - Pot (Trolling)

[jbullar1 at twcny.rr.com (Jim Bullard)]

At 02:34 PM 4/18/2005 -0400, Steve Adams wrote:
>The Old RidgRunner,
>
>Reference your post, dated 04-18-05, "In my humble opinion the AT is not 
>really wilderness, even in the politically designated 'Wilderness Areas.' "
>
>It seems to me, if a trail runs through it, it has lost its "wilderness" 
>status.

In the Adirondack definition of 'wilderness', trails are accepted as a 
feature that does not violate the concept. Trails existed before the 
Europeans came here, Native American hunting trails and animal trails. That 
did not stop us from considering the whole of the continent 'wilderness' 
when we arrived.

I suppose in a purist sense for those who deny that humans are also 
animals, wilderness could only be defined as totally lacking any evidence 
of the presence of humans. In one of Cat Stevens songs there is a line 
"There are no words that I can use because the meanings are left for you to 
choose". Given the flexibility of meaning that he refers to I suspect we 
each have our own definition of wilderness and mine may not be the same as 
yours. I'm willing to accept trails through it both because it limits the 
damage of human traffic to a specific corridor and because, when wilderness 
travelers get into difficulty, it makes rescue more likely/easier if 
they've stuck to the trail. YMMV

Saunterer the maintainer/S&R Volunteer