RC: Trails

[Kim <kim@redhorsetech.com>]

On Wed, 17 Mar 1999 11:13:48 -0500 (EST), "Sarah Roxanne Zawacki"
<zawackis@pilot.msu.edu> wrote:

(Snip)
>  But I'm not very educated about this issue, and I was wondering
> if anyone could tell me what the logic is behind banning horses?  I can
> understand banning ATVs, because they can go flying about, tearing up trails
> and being potentially dangerous to pedestrians, but horses don't tear up
> trails a whole lot, and while they can go flying around, a horse will often
> miss a pedestrian, even if the rider is going too fast.  I don't know...it
> seems to me that horses are pretty trail friendly.  They even fertilize the
> ground, rather than giving off exhaust (well, you can *call* it exhaust if
> you want to. :)

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I was a packer for several years in the East Sierras, and we had a lot
of dunnage runs for Sierra Club outtings.  As with any human population,
some folks were nice, some not, and others you wouldn't mind listening
to all day for their wisdom.  Packers get a lot of flack from
environmental groups on wilderness usage.  One older Sierra Clubber and
I chatted about the "conflicts" with horse usage after a dunnage run,
and he and I seemed to agree that the following were universal
complaints from the Sierra Club and others: 

1.  Some riders ride side by side on a single track trail in the flat
areas (meadows, etc.), widening the trails.   (We never allowed that,
but did find private packers doing it each season).

2.  Grazing stock in the high altitude wilderness depletes available
forage for the mule deer population.

3.  After a rain, the trails are potmarked by horse hoofprints, creating
"hiker hazards".  (Okay, this is the Sierras right?  Not a well-groomed
trail ;-))

4.  Shallowrooted vegetation is destroyed by grazing stock and/or their
hooves.

5.  Water pollution from stock urinating in the creeks that cross the
trails. 

6.  Noise pollution from neighing and tracking bells (cow bells we put
on one or two horses at night so we can find them in the morning)

7.  Horse/mule strings cut switchbacks. (Old wive's tale where I
worked... we were always repairing switchback corners destroyed by
tired, unfit hikers, but that's another story).

8.  Manure pollution (introducing non-native vegetation to wilderness,
manure exists, etc.)

9.  Excessive trail use destoying the "natural existance and solitary
beauty" of the wilderness (more specifically, commercial trail use by
pack outfits but endurance rides might fit in this complaint as well).

10.  Air pollution from excessive dust raised by horses walking down
trails.

The battle to keep our trails open to horse use is obviously a tough
one.  Perhaps when considering this, we should remind the "powers that
be" of the potential benefits of horse usage.  Our pack outfit did most
of the trail maintenance, as the USFS could not afford to do it, and the
terrain was really tough unless you could pack in all of the tools.  I
think this was one of the few wilderness areas that allowed maintenence
of the trails.  Also, we did haul in a lot of folks who would not make
it up one hour of the trail on their own two feet (lack of physical
conditioning, kids, etc.).  We packed in a large Sierra Club group at no
cost (pack stock and riding stock) when they volunteered to help
maintain the trails one season. 

I am glad that there are "watchdog" groups like many of the more
moderate Sierra Club chapters out there, as one pack staion comes to
mind about breaking all the rules about wilderness use (yup, and they're
still in business today :-<  ).  If you can't please everyone, any
suggestions on how to make 'em at least "friendly"?

Kim (and Lee)


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