Re: [Paddlewise] Saturation Point

At 05:33 PM 9/23/99 -0700, Doug Lloyd wrote:
>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?

Doug, I'm posting this on Paddlewise as well as e-mailing you directly, as
I have been having a lot of problems posting on Paddlewise -- my e-mail
server doesn't get along with theirs, and I haven't figured out who to read
off, yet. If it doesn't show up there, please feel free to copy anything in
this.

You have a very valid point. I know that I've at times found myself
thinking, "Wow, if this gets popular, I'm going to have to find something
else to do." While I'm much more of a recreational paddler than being in
your league, I still find myself concerned with overuse of resources.

Now, in my neck of the woods, I'm sure that things are different than in
yours. In the great lakes and inland waters where I hang out, kayaking is
only starting to take hold. But, you know what? I'd much rather see a kayak
out on the water, being rather more intimate with nature, than to hear the
buzz of jet skis or bass boats, of which we seem to have far too many.

I have spent many years working on developing the North Country National
Scenic Trail -- a hiking trail that runs from Central North Dakota to
Upstate New York. A few years ago, we started to see these strange things
called mountain bikes appearing on the trails. The first few riders weren't
a problem; they had some respect for the resource. Then the second wave
hit, the people for whom the trail wasn't a way into the back country, but
a thing to conquer. And, they tore hell out of several parts of the trail.
The bikes on the NCNST are still a big, hot issue. You get the feeling that
these bozos hop off their bikes and get onto their jet skis and tear hell
out of the lakes.

The upside to kayaking is that it involves work. All that a jetski really
requires is knowing how to start it and where the go-lever is. There are
bozos out there on those things that have no idea of the simplest rules of
the road, safety issues, no comprehension of resource damage, no courtesy
or respect for others -- just the knowledge that if you twist the throttle
you get a heckuva ride. Cheap thrills. To go somewhere or see something in
a kayak involves the expenditure of effort. Therefore, there's a lid on how
far that the sport will grow. Kayaks do, by their nature, teach of the
world around them. Those that are not willing to learn won't be much in the
way of users. But, there will be those that will want to progress in their
skills, to go beyond using a kayak as a mere beachfront playboat, and they
should have the means available to improve their skills, and perhaps hone
their appreciation of the resource at the same time.

Several years ago, I attended a seminar on interpreting long-distance
trails, put on by the National Park Service Harpers Ferry Center. It was
one of the most intense weeks that I can recall -- they really packed us
full. One thing that I do remember, more than most, was a speaker who said,
"We must admit to the necessity of hardening the front country." He noted
that 90 percent of the use of hiking trails is within the first quarter
mile of the trailhead. Yes, recreational use will grow. We will see more
recreational use out there -- but much of it will be in the "front country".

In the back country -- well, that's a little different. You have to figure
that a person that will paddle a kayak far enough into the quiet places
will have at least a degree of appreciation of them. Guided tours do make
me a little uneasy in this respect. I just got back from a week's tour of
Isle Royale. I spent a heck of a lot of time planning and training for this
trip, working on skills, researching and practicing. It was a heck of a
good trip; we had a great time. The four of us that went on the trip went
on our own, made our own plans, worked out our own arrangements. I find
myself a little resentful of someone who would do a similar trip as a
guided tour, having essentially no knowledge of kayaking, wilderness travel
and living, or the resource, but having a wallet thick enough to pay to
have their hand held and their decisions made for them. Which is not to say
that I'll never take a guided tour, since I can envision situations where
the local knowledge, availability of equipment, or whatever, would take
priority over trying to set a trip up on my own. But, you can believe that
I'll know how to handle the kayak before I get there, and will have learned
everything I can about the trip before I leave. But many people aren't like
that; they'd rather fork over the money and have their thinking and and
decision making and scutwork done for them.

Access to wilderness is a touchy subject, and likely to get worse. I find
myself resenting the fact that the only way that I could ever take a trip
down the Grand Canyon, for example, is by forking over a couple of grand to
a commercial outfit. In theory, I could get in the fifteen year line for
the private permit, but I'm of an age where the odds are about fifty-fifty
that I won't make it another fifteen years, or if I do won't be in much
shape to enjoy such a trip. Yet, the demand will grow in that time as the
population grows, and there's only so much resource in the first place. Too
many people, in other words, and that's a situation that will only get worse.

I can't bring myself to say, "I'm aboard, pull up the ladder." But, I can
see the time coming, in some areas, where the ladder is going to get pulled
up whether we like it or not. Sad, but there it is.

-- Wes Boyd


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