RE: [Paddlewise] Saturation Point

I've been reading the responses to these questions with interest and have
been thinking about how to respond.  Being a newbie I suppose I am guilty of
being part of the growth of the sport. I "join" in this sport because of my
love of nature and of being outdoors and certainly without any intent on
ruining the experience for anyone else.

However, I do know how it feels to have "my sport" over-run.  Back in the
day (a decade ago) when I started mtn biking with a friend of mine we had
the run of all of trails.  If on the rare occasion we came across other
bikers we'd all stop and converse.  There was a camaraderie between the few
people pedaling around in the woods.  Races were small and laid back with
many people camping together the night before and swapping stories over a
few beers.  During the race people were polite and talkative.  After the
race it was common to have a BBQ and a keg.

So where has this sport progressed?  With so many people on the trails, land
owners are fearing lawsuits so they post their land and thus the trails are
disappearing.  Attitudes on the trail are like those found on a city
sidewalk.  And at the races (that I no longer attend) the masses of people
focus more on the competition and comparing their expensive steeds than the
camaraderie.

And as far as Winter sports go, I grew up in a small ski town and watched
how the crowds grew and grew over the years.  Now traffic is so bad that the
locals stay home during the weekend so as not to get caught up in all the
traffic and rude tourists.  The once secret powder runs are all tracked out
by 10:00 AM and the trails are so crowded by 11:00 I'm forced to leave or
risk being hit from behind by the crazies. 

I certainly don't have any answers to the questions below, but I share the
concern.  Personally I've never looked down upon anyone getting into "my
sport" as long as they had the right attitude.  I've shown people the trails
and the secret powder runs because they shared my enthusiasm and I am
certainly grateful to those who taught me.  

So try not to be hard on all the newbies - we all had to start somewhere.
But if you want to keep a couple of spots secret I won't blame you.

My 2 cents......

Joe

-----Original Message-----
From: Doug Lloyd [mailto:dlloyd_at_bc.sympatico.ca]
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 1999 8:34 PM
To: PaddleWise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subject: [Paddlewise] Saturation Point


I spoke with a dealer at the PT Symposium who was elated at their sales
this past year, and all the new paddlers at the symposium showing interest
in his boats. I said that was "too bad". 

"Excuse me", came the reply, "What do you mean by that?"

I said that means more people on the water, more impact. Does anyone think
there are too many people participating these days? Who's worse,
recreational paddlers or guide outfits (there was an earlier post on this)?
Should we all stop encouraging new growth, boycott symposiums, stop
teaching? Any thoughts, or is this not a valid question in the kayaking
community, yet?

BC'in Ya
Doug Lloyd 
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