Re: [Paddlewise] Chief Seattle's words

    I knew when I posted the quote that therer was a dispute over who 
actually wrote them and should in hindsight have said "attributed to".
    To point I was trying to make was about keeping secret special places in 
the wilderness. When I first started white water raft guiding on the new 
river in West Virginia back in the late 70's. There was a trail leading to a 
spectacular over look of the lower gorge the locals called "beauty mountain" 
It was a wonderful place just to go and  take in the splendor and meditate 
on life. For a while most of the guides kept the trail location secret for 
we feared more and more people would find it and overrun it. Eventually 
enough guides brought their best tipping customers there and soon the crowds 
showed up and so did those ready to party.
    Were we selfish in wanting to keep this special place a secret? Yes! 
Were we wrong? Debatable!
    The point is when wilderness becomes inundated with people it loses the 
essence of being wilderness. Crowds bring pollution, enviornmental 
destruction, and noise. Not to mention soiled soggy piles of toliet paper. 
My pet peve is to see an article in an outdoor magazine saying: The top 10 
secret wilderness camping/hiking/ canoeing ect. spots revealed. Once every 
one goes there it is no longer special.
    I don't begrudge someone not wanting to reveal a secret spot. After all 
they appearently went to great effort to find it. I have found in my travels 
to take a great effort to discover a secret spot adds to the wonder and joy 
of being there.
Bob
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