Re: [RC] Setting Fire to Tents a/k/a Cut-throat Competition - Truman Prevatt
In a ride I ran in '96 one stretch of trail kept getting "remarked."
They pulled ribbons and marked cut offs that lead nowhere. I first
marked in on Wednesday. They were gone Thursday morning. I marked it on
Thursday afternoon and they were gone Thursday evening. I marked it
standing on the top of the cab of my pickup on Friday about noon and
wasn't sure they would be up Saturday morning so I told the riders - go
straight till you see a spotter that will direct your turn and then go
string till you see another spotter who will direct you. The ribbons
had been messed with - they really had to work to do that.
I expect it was hunters and I expect it had become a game. We got
through the ride except for one turn that way the hell back in the
woods they managed to get to. Most people figured it out but of course
a few didn't.
I did a ride one time where the vandals were out moving ribbons as we
were riding. The forest service was out trying to catch them. But the
trail had permanent markers augmented by ribbons so you could still
follow it - independent of the vandals.
Trail vandalism seems to be an issue unless you have permanent markers
on the trail you can use.
Vandalizing of ribbons is fairly common and has been going on for a LONG
time. On my first endurance ride, in 1971, someone not only removed ribbons
>from the correct trail, but re-hung them on trees going up a mountain.
After I had gone some distance (and following the tracks of other riders who
had been fooled), the ribbons stopped and I was hopelessly confused. It was
in an area that just led me around in circles. Finally, the drag riders
came along and helped me get straightened out.
I was flagging a trail for one of my rides one day, and when finished
was riding back along part of the trail I'd just flagged on my way
back to the trailer. I came to a fork in the trail and the ribbons
had already been moved, to the wrong fork! Then I came upon a couple
of guys in a pickup truck, and there were some of my ribbons in the
bed.
I said to them, "Say, if you see anyone pulling down ribbons from the
trees along here, could you ask them not to do that? I'm marking the
trail for a trail ride here next weekend ... I'll take them down after
the ride."
They then admitted they'd been pulling ribbons down, and re-marked the
fork, because they thought they were ribbons put up by rival hunters
leading to a hunting spot!
At the Race of Champions one year, a resident near the trail kept
pulling down ribbons. When ride management talked to her about it,
she indignantly told them that she paid a lot of money to live out
there and wasn't going to tolerate ribbons spoiling the view. Ride
management had to send someone out just ahead of the riders to re-mark
the trail.
-- We imitate our masters only because we are not yet masters
ourselves,
and only
We
imitate our masters
only because we are not yet masters ourselves, and only
because
in doing so we
learn the truth about what cannot be imitated.
