[Cdt-l] A grand proposal

[Travis Naibert]

Though I like the idea of trail maintenance and trail markers in some
locations (such as meadows with no obvious exit point, unmapped
4x4/ATV road intersections, etc.) I would be horrified to hike the CDT
and see neon tape in the trees every 100 yards. I just hiked the trail
last year, so I don't consider myself an old traditionalist, but one
of the great things about the CDT is that it is not the type of trail
that you plug in your ipod/pick a lunch spot exactly X.X miles
away/put your map away/and walk zombielike (well, except for the road
walks). The best part about it is that it is a participatory adventure
involving constant attention to the landscape and to the
maps/guidebooks (shout out to Ley and Wolf, thanks!). And, no offense
to Lynne or anybody else, but if you think that <60 hikers a year
walking through an area following tape is going to create a permanent
trail in the arid rockies you are mistaken. The reason that the trail
is so hard to find in many places, even those that the forest
service/BLM has "maintained", is the low number of hikers that
actually hike the trail. This includes very low numbers of day/weekend
hikers on many parts of the trail. I, for one, consider that part of
the appeal of the CDT and don't mind the bushwacking that may be
required often. If I wanted a well manicured trail that is well
trodden I would repeat my PCT hike, which is packed down by hundreds
of thru-hikers and thousands of day/weekenders, instead of just a few
dozen people a year.

The other problem with neon tape is that in some places it will
attract the wrong kind of use (ATVs, Dirtbikes, etc.)

I do really like the wiki idea though. This past year Freebie made a
CDT 2011 facebook page and most of the SOBOs were on it and some NOBOs
too. We all posted trail conditions, water info, town
conditions/restaurant and hotel deals, etc. It was neat to get to town
and see what the people ahead of you were posting. I think this would
be cool on a wikipedia page, as it could get updated year to year.

I have a "lesser proposal" than Lynne's adopt-a-section. What if the
CDTS sent a half dozen CDT emblems to each hiker who orders a
guidebook or becomes a member and then people could "adopt" one or two
or six difficult and/or unmarked trail junctions while they are hiking
by putting up an emblem. This way the route would organically become
less difficult without having to see neon tape all over the place. I
carry a sharpie when i hike to make notes for other hikers if needed.
It would be useful for writing alternate route junctions on the CDT
markers, too.

Suspect (2011)