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- Newsgroups: rec.backcountry
- Path: sparky!uunet!think.com!ames!data.nas.nasa.gov!amelia.nas.nasa.gov!eugene
- From: eugene@amelia.nas.nasa.gov (Eugene N. Miya)
- Subject: [l/m 6/2/92] Backcountry Ethics Distilled Wisdom (2/28) XYZ
- Followup-To: poster
- Sender: news@nas.nasa.gov (News Administrator)
- Organization: NAS Program, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
- Date: Sat, 2 Jan 93 12:20:09 GMT
- Message-ID: <1993Jan2.122009.6339@nas.nasa.gov>
- Summary: Panel 2
- Reply-To: eugene@amelia.nas.nasa.gov (Eugene N. Miya)
- Lines: 86
-
- Distilled wisdom (Part 2)
-
- INTRODUCTION - ETHICS
-
- "The perfection of means and the confusion of ends seems to
- be our problem." -- Albert Einstein in 1971 Chouinard catalog
-
- Many different people with vastly diverse activities read backcountry:
- climbers, backpackers, campers, hunters, wind surfers, regular board surfers,
- white water (kayak to rubber boat, ocean to river), 4WD, mountain bikers,
- horse riders, ski tourists to ski mountaineers, professional and amateurs.
- Even arm-chair versions of the above. Irrespective of the activity
- note the following.
-
- If you are just starting, REMEMBER:
-
- 1) Don't leave any trash what ever activity you are doing. Don't bury it,
- take it out. Leave the place cleaner than you found it.
-
- 2) If you are hiking, stay on trail, don't cut turns (switchbacks).
- This causes erosion. This area is fragile.
-
- 3) Don't make new fire rings, never leave a fire unattended,
- nor cut live trees (use downed wood), try not to disturb the vegetation.
- Use stoves in preference over wood above 9,000 feet. [This was written for
- the Sierra, might be 4,000 ft. or lower on the Eastern US, Canada, etc.]
- Keep camps away from water, lakes, streams, and the trail.
- See suggestion 8).
-
- 4) Be considerate of other people doing different activities.
-
- 5) Don't get yourself into trouble, and be prepared for trouble.
- This area can kill you. [First aid class?]
-
- 6) Learn how to use your equipment in advance, don't rely on it, consider
- alternative uses.
-
- 7) Use caution when passing livestock and heavy machinery.
-
- 8) Don't use soap (even bio degradeable kind) in a lake or stream.
-
- 9) Camp 100 feet or more from trails and water.
-
- 10) Check out rules specific to the areas you are travelling.
- There are places where you are asked not to camp except in
- designated areas. There are other places where you are asked
- not to wander off the developed trail. They usually relate to a
- fragile environment [See suggestion 2)].
-
- These are the kinds of things you learn when you travel with outing clubs,
- the Sierra Club, and other various societies.
-
- "The elevation of ends and the simplification of means is the goal."
- --Henry David Thoreau, subsequent Chouinard catalog
-
- TABLE OF CONTENTS of this chain:
-
- 2/ Ethics <* THIS PANEL *>
- 3/ Learning I
- 4/ learning II (lists, "Ten Essentials," Chouinard comments)
- 5/ Summary of past topics
- 6/ Non-wisdom: fire-arms topic circular discussion
- 7/ Phone / address lists
- 8/ Fletcher's Law of Inverse Appreciation and advice
- 9/ Water Filter wisdom
- 10/ Words from Rachel Carson
- 11/ Snake bite
- 12/ Netiquette
- 13/ Questions on conditions and travel
- 14/ Dedication to Aldo Leopold
- 15/ Leopold's lot.
- 16/ Morbid backcountry and memoriam
- 17/ Information about bears
- 18/ Poison ivy, frequently ask, under question
- 19/ Lyme disease, frequently ask, under question
- 20/ "Telling questions" backcountry Turing test (under construction)
- 21/ AMS
- 22/ Words from Foreman and Hayduke
- 23/ A bit of song (like camp songs)
- 24/ What is natural?
- 25/ A romantic notion of high-tech employment
- 26/ Other news groups of related interest, networking
- 27/ Films/cinema references
- 28/ References (written)
- 1/ DISCLAIMER
-
-