I'm thinking of taking my parents up to the top of a California 14er for their anniversary, either this year or next year. Problem is, they're in their 70s, aren't in good shape, and haven't hiked in years.
So I came up with the idea of renting electric mountain bikes and having them reach the summit that way. But before I go ahead with that plan, I have two questions -
1.) Is it legal to ride an electric bike past the locked gate? There's a ban on vehicles but a tolerance of regular bikes, so this seems to be a grey area.
2.) Is it considered unsportsmanlike (for lack of a better word) to ride an electric bike on that trail? I can imagine an exhausted hiker looking back, seeing two people fly by him/her, and yelling "cheaters!" in frustration.
