So, Steve, since you felt free to throw a thinly-veiled insult in my direction, what solutions to the wag bag and trash problem would you like to suggest? Or would you rather just leave things the way they are? I can't believe you like the current situation regarding wag bags.
You falsely assume that I am one of those who want to "keep the commoners out," but you missed the point in your haste to pass judgment on a wilderness philosophy that you might not share. When it comes to the wilderness, I will always be a "commoner," just a temporary visitor.
I confess to being a pot-stirrer, but sometimes that's what it takes to get people to face up to a problem. Oh boy, I'd better really button up my flame retardent suit now...ha ha.
Bob, sorry if you felt insulted. I appreciate your contributions to discussions on this forum! On the other hand, I get pretty riled up when
anyone brings up cutting back access to the wilderness as a first resort to some problem. There were so many people in the Half Dome thread on this forum and a Yosemite forum, willing to let YNP cut the numbers going to Half Dome yet again, without even trying, in fact, some even condemning the idea of trying other options.
It is not you -- it's just the idea of cutting back the numbers being the preferred choice. I hear it so many times from so many people. Nearly always it is from those who spend more time than most in the mountains, those with more technical climbing experience, those who have been hiking longer than others. And the attitude is nearly always an arrogant condemnation of the Vacation Hikers, or Disneyland Tourists; Flip Flop hikers; Commoners. There's an attitude in there that I call ugly.
And what bothers me more, is that this same attitude can be found in the National Park and National Forest people who set the policies. It really fires me up, because myself being a commoner, I can't get access to the wilderness due to tight quotas, yet when I have gotten the
last available permit, hiked into some backcountry spot, I never see a soul! There is something wrong with that picture.
Just one thing Bob: re-reading your
five suggestions for the Whitney trail, I just cannot see how you can then write "
You falsely assume that I am one of those who want to keep the commoners out" Maybe you can explain who you would keep out. I am puzzled.
Finally, for solutions to the WAG bags left behind... Here are two suggestions I like:
1. Charge more per hikers in the Whitney Zone. Use the money to add foot rangers to keep better eye on things.
2. Put an identifying mark on each and every wag bag, so those left behind could be tracked to the hikers leaving them.
Also rebuild the several toilets that were taken out.
I like the education idea, too. Maybe a ten-minute course, and a 5-minute test to make sure people actually learned what was said. Miss too many on the test, take the course again!
There are quite a few ideas that should be tried BEFORE cutting the numbers.
