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[at-l] Trail Access, Was Handicap

I think that this thread has pretty well worn itself out about access
for the handicapped.  I know that there are positive benefits to
hiking and enjoying nature.  Several weeks ago I climbed out of the
Delaware Water Gap to Mount Minsi.  It was a beautiful day and there
was quite a crowd on the trail.  There must have been 20 people on top
of the mountain.  I also meet three south bounders on the same day. 
Of all these people that I saw there was only one Asian (female).  I
did not see any other minority group the whole day.  In fact in all of
my years hiking I have seen less than five Afro-Americans hiking.  I
think that this is a pretty sad state of affairs.  Rachel Dubois
(Solophile) even mentioned she did not see any Afro-Americans on the
trail during her thru hike.

While it may not be possible for minorities to always get to trail
heads, there are other hiking opportunities.  I live two blocks from a
rails to trails conversion trail.  This is a nice paved trail used by
roller bladers, bikers, joggers and walkers.  In the twelve years that
I have utilized this trail I have only seen one Afro-American couple
regularly use the trail.  I have not seen any other minorities on the
trail even though there are a fair number in the area.

I wonder why backpacking and hiking seems to be a 'white only'
activity.  I know that it is not because of the cost of the activity. 
Is there anyone on this list that is a minority and would they be
interested in sharing their thoughts.  Is there something that we
could do to increase the participation in this wonderful activity
called backpacking.

I need to apologize for the type of my email.  I am not the best
typist or speller.  The spell checker really only checks spelling and
I end up with words like is instead of in, etc.  To top it off I have
a flaky keyboard that occasionally likes to add extra letters.  Please
bear with me.


Bob Dudley
Grey Owl
rdudley@arserrc.gov

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