Re: [Paddlewise] The urban paddler

At 04:17 PM 9/27/99 -0700, Dave Kruger <dkruger_at_pacifier.com> wrote:
SNIP
>
>'Bought Ralph's comments re: urban paddling:  (now I'm serious) he really hit
>a bunch of nails on the head for me.  Semi-urban and full-tilt urban areas
>often have marvelous pockets of near-wilderness hidden in their core.  It is
>arrogant to suggest the only truly "wild" places are in the middle of
>"nowhere."  I cherish and stand in awe at the likes of Ralph, Bayside Bob,
and
>a host of others, who work to keep wonderful those niches near urban centers
>which provide solitude and peace for we folks living in cities.
>
Hello List,

I haven't read all the posts on saturation and urban paddling so I
apologize in advance if this has been covered before.

I like to paddle.  I really like to paddle.  I like to paddle in wilderness
areas, pristine or whatever, just like everyone else.  My take on the
recent discussions was that, on the one hand people loved to paddle in
wilderness areas and, on the other hand, people found wilderness areas in
urban settings.  Wilderness, wilderness, wilderness.  It's great.

Perhaps though, there are others like me who enjoy paddling in urban areas
to see the urban sights.  I enjoy exploring harbors and marinas and
industrial areas and boat yards and bridges and piers and....(I don't know
yet all of what there is to find.  That's the point.)  Yeah, the water may
not be the cleanest, but the variety is outstanding.

I was once on a trip with Ralph Diaz along the Hudson.  One part of that
trip that I really enjoyed was Ralph's explaining the ruins of railroad car
handling mechanisms we saw along the shore.  (BTW, if you ever get to
paddle with Ralph, you will see that he is a wealth of information from a
history, geological and archeological perspective.  Other perspectives, too
:-})

If I lived in a wilderness area I would still want to occasionally travel
to an urban area to experience a wider spectrum of paddling experiences.
So, while everyone is rushing out to enjoy the wilderness areas before they
die from overcrowding, I will enjoy being alone in an urban setting (with
the tugs and freighters and ferrys and jet skis and...).

Just another perspective.

Bill Leonhardt
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