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[at-l] LLT "vs." LNT
Hello Racer X -
You asked:
>...just teasing Charlie, really like your LNT
>thoughts, but seems like you're working pretty hard to 'sell' to an
>already very receptive audience? Are the people who care enough to
>spend time developing gear, community, philosophies etc. the worst
>culprits?...
Not working so hard...talking LNT has become a lot of fun for me!
I do feel that the 'sell' is important, though. All the evidence that I
have collected to date points to a general "negative" feeling toward
thru-hikers by the folks who take care of the two great trails that I have
hiked. Section and destination hikers seem to have a MUCH better
reputation for using (any kind of) minimum impact techniques than we
thru-hikers do.
The good news, of course, is that this "negative" quickly gets lost in the
overall clutter. Most trailside folks are so supportive of a thru-hiker's
individual quest that they are pretty doggone willing to cut them some
slack in the "impact" department <g>. BTW, I am hearing a LOT more
"impact" complaints (about thru-hikers) relating to town (and shelter)
impacts than to trail impacts <f>. Maybe LNT should branch out to urban
minimum-impact skills <g>.
I guess that I am the one who is most disappointed by the negative
perception some managing agency folks have of we thru-hiker's outdoor
citizenship skills. With very few exceptions, the thru-hikers that I have
met are outstanding human beings. The kids do a LOT of growing up on the
trail and the geezers get a new lease on life. Those of us at life's
crossroads get to narrow our focus down to things that really matter...and
sometimes that EVEN helps <g>. I guess that I feel that, given all the
self-actualization that is possible during a thru-hike, there is no real
reason why we all can't clean up behind ourselves as we go.
I truly don't think that the problem is whether or not the thru-hikers are
in the choir...I agree that most are already there...I just think that too
often we have to hum along because we don't know the words to the song <g>.
Even if we didn't start out that way, I am convinced that most thru-hikers
start "wanting to do the right thing" somewhere during their hike. It is
HARD to focus (so intently that we dream about white blazes <g>) on a path
for thousands of miles without feeling appreciative of the folks who make
the path "system" possible ...and we DO want to help out. We just need to
learn what to do.
Thru-hikers are BY NO MEANS the heavy "impactors" on our trails. Watch a
group of brand new campers without effective training or leadership (kids
or adults). Take a look at the popular OTR (dirt bikes, ATV's, 4WD),
cattle pasture, and equestrian use areas (more of a problem on the PCT than
on the AT). Notice the damage done by careless mountain bike use. Check
out the state of the trails in the heavy day-use sections close to parking
lots (SMNP would be a good place to start...<f>). I am sure that we all
have our favorite trail condition "horror" story...
I absolutely agree that the list folks reading my LNT postings are among
the most receptive audiences I face. That's one of the reasons why I take
the trouble <VBG>. One of the problems that all of the managing agencies
face is that of reaching a "critical mass" of LNT knowledge amongst the
backcountry user population. Too little and anything we can do
individually is completely swamped by the destruction done by the crowds of
the unknowing. I am convinced that we ARE running out of time in many of
our more dramatic and pristine wildlands...we ALL need to spread the word
to as many people as possible.
Hooboy...if the internet doesn't do anything else, it SURE spreads the word!
Thanks for sharing the town-stop romance story. Interesting thread (or
maybe I should say threads...the kindness and raincoat threads seem to be
really covering the same ground <g>).
- Charlie II
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