I'm all over the map on guidebooks. I agree the existence of a guidebook concentrates and focuses visitors to an area. That's a bad thing if your favorite spot gets identified as a primo site in a new guidebook. Worse if appears on the front cover of a glossy broadly-based publication like Sunset. [Yes that has happened to me; once, the magazine was in the mail when I returned from that isolated spot deep in the High Cascades of WA. Another time a photo of another fave spot was on the cover of 102 Hikes (the original one).] But, the other side of the coin can be a good thing if the guidebook author has taken some care in identifying "commonly known" sites and has ... ahhhmmm ... "overlooked" others, leaving serendipity to those equipped to enjoy it; and, the common sites, for the throngs who might not know or appreciate the difference. Chances are, the throngs can't find the secret spots because the guidebook has blinded them to looking. Philip Jones has done this on the Lower Columbia, I know for a fact. Thanks, Philip! I do not agree with Craig's implicit thesis that those who live near a primo area should feel sorry for those who "have" to live hundreds of miles away. I live in a primo paddling area, and like others who make a living (_made_, in my case) in a less than desirable location from a professional standpoint, I've already taken my lumps, thank you. I'll wear my xenophobia proudly because I've earned it, trading quality of life for bucks and professional status. Finally, I respect those who resent my arrival on "their" favorite paddling areas some can be charmed; others not. Everybody has a sense of ownership about his/her special places, even if we do not actually possess a deed or title to them. The third side of the coin is a failure of an assumption: that a guidebook will always result in way more people. I believed that when I started paddling on the Lower Columbia in 1992. My paddling partner (The Curmudgeon) and I purposely mislead people about where we paddled, and made up off the wall names for where we camped (e.g., Dead Wild Pig Island). It is now sixteen years later and the actual number of paddlers using "our" River is about double what it was; hardly a population explosion, and an increase which has not diminished the quality of my paddling experiences or my sense of isolation on the water. In 1992 we never saw other paddlers; in 2008 I see them every fifth or sixth trip. BFD. I'll put my money where my mouth is for the third side of the coin. Here is the liturgy of my paddling experiences on the Lower Columbia: http://www.kayaktrips.net/sea-kayak/cat_dave_kruger.html Go for it. Paddle your selves silly! You still won't see me, I bet! PS: Don't forget the frappachino, Craig! [sly grin] -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue May 13 2008 - 13:23:52 PDT
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