if you were wondering, i did not go back to the AMR gatehouse to re-claim my hiking poles; especially after reading this article. i have decided to 'let them go'.
the incident on friday has (not surprisingly) generated a bit of debate.
i thought quite a lot about all of this during my hike up tabletop. nothing like a bit of hiking to get your thoughts bouncing around.
it seems that the debate always gets hottest when it involves adirondack land use, who has the rights to be there and what they should be allowed to do. secondly, people usually get their panties in a twist about dogs and ATVs on trails in the adirondacks.
i guess the unique nature of the adirondack park and it's private/public mix makes this type of debate expected. but what i don't get is why people are so mean about it. aren't we all neighbors? i realize i don't live inside the blue line folks...but someday i (and my dog) will, much to the displeasure of some. i am not going to stop hiking in the adirondacks. i will keep my ADK membership. i will continue to do what i can to preserve the adirondacks and my right to access it.
i just hope we can find a way to all share this place without elitism or intimidation.
i just hope we can find a way to all share this place without elitism or intimidation.
After my initial angry response to the treatment my hiker friends received on the Ausable Club land, I thought about conversations I have had with at least 3 Essex County natives who recalled with negativity, their adk park hometowns being over run with hikers each summer. This I understand, coming from a town with a very high percentage of part-time residents. However, I think it is worthy to note that the member list of the Ausable Club consists substantially of people with a Park Avenue address (or the like) and that does not give them the right to hire some rough and tough "security guard" to treat other people who are coming to the area for the same reasons they are like criminals. How would they like it if we went to the city and made a new law that little foo foo dogs in purses are not allowed in public places.
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