Re: Horse Packers Banned in SEKI
Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 4:48 pm
I agree it's a complicated issue. Getting the support of horse folks was critical for the passage of the Wilderness Act back in 1964. And I once met a group of Sierra Clubbers in the Sabrina Basin using a huge pack train. They were all in their 60s and 70s. Most were walking with light daypacks ahead of the train, a few unable to walk the 7-8miles were riding. Best use of mules I've ever seen. HJMC and his "bring the kitchen sink and bar routine" - not so much.
As for maintenance, I don't buy it for a second that horses are critical for trail work. Most of the crews I've seen doing trail work that have heavy gear like picks are doing work to either make it easier for the animals (regrading Kearsarge Pass, for example), or fixing trail damage done by the heavy animals with small foot prints. Mules and horses generate forces that tend to dig up the trail while lighter humans with large foot pads tend to pack it down, particularly when the trail is soft (as in during spring thaw). Clearing downfall is mostly a matter of sawing logs and rolling/dragging them out of the way. You don't use/need horses to do that. What really gets me is the amount of trail work done by volunteers who don't realize the work they are doing is primarily benefiting the packers and their customers. If the packers had to do all the trail work to repair the damage they cause, they'd have to increase rates and many would probably go out of business. So in effect, the volunteer trail crews are subsidizing the business.
As for maintenance, I don't buy it for a second that horses are critical for trail work. Most of the crews I've seen doing trail work that have heavy gear like picks are doing work to either make it easier for the animals (regrading Kearsarge Pass, for example), or fixing trail damage done by the heavy animals with small foot prints. Mules and horses generate forces that tend to dig up the trail while lighter humans with large foot pads tend to pack it down, particularly when the trail is soft (as in during spring thaw). Clearing downfall is mostly a matter of sawing logs and rolling/dragging them out of the way. You don't use/need horses to do that. What really gets me is the amount of trail work done by volunteers who don't realize the work they are doing is primarily benefiting the packers and their customers. If the packers had to do all the trail work to repair the damage they cause, they'd have to increase rates and many would probably go out of business. So in effect, the volunteer trail crews are subsidizing the business.