Re: [at-l] AT may be too tough says oldtimer ;o)

[Tim Hewitt <thewitt@fairchildsemi.com>]

Snodrog5@aol.com wrote:
> 
> Appalachian Trail May Be Too Tough
> .c The Associated Press
>  By DAVID SHARP
> MILLINOCKET, Maine (AP) -- An 80-year-old man who has hiked the entire
> Appalachian Trail three times says the nation's most famous footpath has been
> made too difficult in the 50 years since he first walked the Georgia-to-Maine
> route.
[clip]
> Shaffer knows he can't change the route on purchased land, but he intends to
> lobby for changes where the trail crosses federal and state parks. But he
> acknowledged it's an uphill battle.
[clip]

This last part is the one that bothers me the most. I met Earl two years ago at
the ATC conference in Maine, and he was harping on this issue then as well. "The
Trail is too difficult, it needs to be made more accessable and easier for
everyone" was his rallying cry. I admire Earl for what he has done, but I hope
in my heart of hearts that no one listens to him on this. I fear that the AT -
especially in Federally controlled areas - will before too long be leveled,
paved, full of stairs and wheelchair ramps, allowing pack animals, tour busses,
consession stands, $600,000 outhouses...

I'm glad I'm hiking it next year. It may never be a near wilderness experience
again if folks like Shaffer have their way.

-Paddler
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