by Bill Burke of
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Dateline:
the near future
Location: your local national forest or BLM land
Situation: the trail has a locked gate across it with a sign that says "CLOSED TO MOTOR VEHICLES"
Problem: back-country land abuse rears its ugly head in the form of
ignorant
uncaring
and/or
outright stupid people!
I am angry. I won’t even go into all the 4-wheel drive roads that my wife and I have hiked on and the sickening things we saw--trees with deep cuts around their circumference from YAHOOS not using tree straps for winching; trash and empty bottles tossed everywhere; burn scars and errant fire rings to name a few.
How hard is it to buy and use a tree strap? Why do you have to hurt the trees?
How hard is it to bring along a trash bag? Why can’t you take your trash home and put it in your trash can?
How hard is it to use an existing fire ring (or stove, for that matter)? Why can’t you bring in fire wood from the store (not pallets) instead of ripping our trees apart?
Why do you have to ruin it for everybody?
I am so angry that my first thought was that YAHOOS ought to be forced to watch their own truck getting beaten to a pulp with a large hammer, until the truck is in pieces and can’t be driven. Because that is what they are doing to our public lands and they don’t care.
Television commercials add to YAHOOism by setting up the "splash and crash syndrome." Commercials peddle sensationalism in the form of racing, puddle-jumping, and mud-splashing SUV’s. The miscreants are so television-oriented that they see this as a way of life. By the time the disclaimer is shown on the ad at the end of the commercial, if they even bother to do it, it’s too late. The subconscious mind of the 4-wheel drive adventure machine owner or soon-to-be owner is already at work! But what they’re really selling is trail closings.
Do you
go around the challenge instead of dealing directly with an obstacle on the road right-of-way, creating "ghost trails," "volunteer trails," and "braiding" (going around obstacles)?
get bored with the easy track and look off the 4-wheel drive road to create your own tough obstacles?
go faster than necessary on an innocent road?
spin tires helplessly on hills and fragile wet meadow areas
wrap winch cables around a tree?
not know map and compass and then get lost?
rip trees, leave trash, roll over, crash?
Then you, too, are a YAHOO and you are the one who is ruining it for those of us who want to see the roads stay open and enjoy the untrampled wildlands! You are the one who is getting the trails closed.
For argument’s sake, let’s say our doctor says we need an operation or we could die. We have choices here:
1. Circumvent the operation and create a worse situation.
2. Grit our teeth and have the surgery.
3. Seek alternative options.
In that same vein, we come to a difficult section of a trail. We have choices here, too.
1. Go around the obstacle and create a worse situation.
2. Grit our teeth and accept the challenge.
3. Turn around and find a different route.
The finesse of 4-wheeling is to keep all four tires on the ground and to keep them from spinning loose, either going up or down especially on challenge sections.
The common sense of 4-wheeling is to stay on the road, pack your trash out, and camp using Leave No Trace ethics.
Bill Burke owns 4-Wheeling America, a company committed to teaching 4WD techniques, safety, trail etiquette and outdoor skills through private and group classes and 4WD back country adventures. Bill can be reached through his website http://www.bb4wa.com or email bill@bb4wa.com.
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