[pct-l] horse free p.c.t.? / Horse droppings

[JPayne at standardsteel.com (James Payne)]

This reply is going to wander a bit, so I apologize ahead of time -
please bear (CANISTERS will NOT be mentioned!) with me...  I, too, have
had some bad 'horse' experiences in the past, yet I certainly cannot and
will not condemn nor wish to ban ALL horsemen/pack stock for the actions
of a very few.  Come on folks, there will be a few bad apples in every
'group' (thruhikers included, unfortunately).  

Let's talk trail maintenance first...  My son was on the CCC/AmeriCorps
Backcountry Trails Klamath Crew last year (maybe you met some of them,
John?).  All of their work is done using only hand tools.  So, how did
all their hand tools (pry bars, picks, shovels, sledges, axes, crosscut
saws, wedges, rakes, pruning saws and loppers, etc.) and their
food/cooking supplies get 18 miles into the wilderness during a four
month continuous backcountry stay?  Pack stock!  And the FS trail 'crew'
(3 people) for that area HAS to utilize pack stock to get all the above
into these remote areas also.

Many commercial packers do early season trail maintenance (mostly
cutting out blowdowns) 'gratis' so that they can get their stock (and
clientele) into the back country.  The Back Country Horsemen (including
John...  I believe he's the northern CA coordinator, or something
similar, for BCH) do a tremendous amount of volunteer trail work and/or
supporting of volunteer trail crews.  Last year, NorCal and southern OR
had a huge amount of high wind/snow load downed trees...  if it weren't
for many volunteers, mainly horsemen, many of the PCTers would have
wound up lost somewhere in southern OR (and if not lost, they certainly
wouldn't have been doing 'easy' 30 mile days!).

In these days of budget cutting/crises, the few federal (FS, NP, BLM)
trail maintenance people left just can't keep up with the trail
maintenance workload...  even more volunteer work will be required in
the future (hint)!  And what is the biggest reason the WA section will
be 5 years being repaired?  Funding (whether for materials or
MANPOWER)...  bridges aren't cheap, and the FS will not use volunteers
for large bridge building work (due to liabilities).  And, in CA, this
may be the last season, unfortunately, for the CCC Backcountry Trails
program (there were six 17-person crews last year in the Sierra and
NorCal; this year?; next year, zero!)...  budget/funding, again.

Other points:
Regarding 'horse sh*t':  Yes, fresh horse biscuits do smell and attract
flies, but it does break down fairly quickly...  If I had to, I would
certainly prefer stepping in horse sh*t rather than a fresh cow pie or
dog sh*t (or WORST of all - HUMAN sh*t!). In some parts of the Sierra,
commercial packers are already required to utilize 'diapers'/biscuit
bags on specific trails...  and in some locations SEPARATE designated
trails for hikers and pack stock do exist (especially at heavily used
trailheads for the first mile or so...  as for the PCT, I thought WA had
a few areas separating hikers/stock; and Crater Lake had a 'stock' route
years ago - now the 'official' PCT - but almost all hikers now go the
'rim route' where stock is banned).

Have I had 'trouble' with horsemen?  Yes, but very, very few (but I've
also had the same 'troubles' with a few hikers, as well...  usually an
'etiquette' type issue).  Have I had 'trouble' with commercial packers? 
No, only their CLIENTELE (and while the packers weren't on site). 
Packers clientele pay 'big bucks' to be hauled in, and many think that
means they own or have MORE right to a whole lake/stream/area where they
are camped (even if you were there first).

As for camping in horse sh*t, sorry but that's your own fault...  I
have always been able to find a good clean site for my camping even at
the most popular fishing lakes in the Sierra/NorCal/OR...  but when it
gets too crowded, then I'm usually going off-trail to more secluded
areas...

Finally (yeah, I know, thank heavens!), the PCT 'charter' designated a
maximum grade, if at all physically possible, so that more people would
be able to utilize the trail...  at that time, the only possible
exceptions would be 'grandfathered', 'historical' segments (it was
thought some JMT passes would be 'impossible' to lessen the current
grade at that time)...  That's also why the average daily miles on the
PCT is higher than the AT - even for some older, 'steep' PCT grades,
there is never any hand over hand scrambling as on the AT in some
locations...

In conclusion, we need the horsemen...  they are 'foot-powered', and
all foot-powered trail users must stick together to keep what we
currently have plus to maintain those trails...  we wouldn't want lose
ANY of it (and there are many areas in jeopardy)!  I honestly feel that
there is a much, much higher percentage of horsemen doing volunteer
trail work than for hikers.  I sincerely and deeply THANK them for their
efforts!

Happy trails!