[at-l] Handicap Access

[Max Rice <mrice@earthlink.net>]

Ok guys .. remember me?  I started a thread quite a while back about
doing the trail in a wheelchair. Many of these same issues came up and
they are now made slightly more urgent by the potential for actual
changes being made that could forever alter the Trail. Yes .. I
understand the Trail is already altered and there is a series of perhaps
inevitable moves and decisions that are slowly changing the character of
the Trail, but the potential for a large and dramatic change is one
which makes the threat very clear and very immediate.

I am an authority on one thing .. moving through life in a wheelchair
and facing the obstacles that are placed before me. I also love the
wilderness ... however it is defined .. lets not get caught in
semantics. My opinion ...NO CHANGES TO THE TRAIL .. no pavement .. no
handrails ... nothing to make access easier to anyone much less those in
a wheelchair. I want the Trail to be as rugged and remote as possible
for my children and their children and the longer we put off the changes
the longer that is a real possibility.

I am thankful for the ADA and the ways that it makes people pay
attention to my most basic of needs to care for myself and my children
(single dad)  but it is not an entitlement to anything beyond that. And,
quite frankly, those that want to pave the Trail to help people like me
can take their well-meaning sentiments and do something meaningful with
them like teach an adult to read or feed the homeless in the inner city.
As for those who find themselves in my situation and want to experience
the wilderness and think that dramatic changes to the Trail are one way
to get that done .. get over your self-absorbed indulgences .. this
isn't just about you .. it is about the generations to come and the
preservation of the area is a lot more important than what you want to
do in this lifetime.

OK .. spoke my peace .. will return to lurking and writing the
occasional haiku.

Max

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