I went to REI's clinic on climbing 14er's last night. Pretty interesting, very informative on preparation and survival, but not too specific on gear. Which was actually nice. I hate when you go to these things and it's just a long sales pitch.
At one point he put up a slide of a mountain goat and pointed out that they're non-native to the area. He asked the audience if anyone knew why they were introduced. Several people guessed grazing, etc. and he said "Think of a more sporting purpose". Several of us said, "Oh, hunting." There were some murmurs of realization and some sneers, and this poppie* behind me smirks, "I don't think there are any hunters in THIS room, tee hee." I just quietly raised my hand into her field of vision.
I really wanted to ask her what made her think that. Was it that hunters wouldn't be climbing 14ers? Did you not just hear him say the goats were put there for hunting? How do you think the hunters are getting there? Not only are they taking all the equipment you are, they're also hauling weapons and ammo up and meat out. Don't even get me started on the idea that hunters love the outdoors less than Boulder day-hikers who refuse to camp!
Another person said, "How sad." How sad what? That a non-native species was introduced? Yeah, I've got issues with that myself. But now it's flourishing as a functional part of the eco-system. So, after it's been introduced, it's sad that the DOW is going to manage it? Or just sad people are hunting such pretty creatures? Did you miss the part that they wouldn't BE there if it weren't for the sporting use?
The speaker went on, talking about recreation being considered a "resource" by the forest service. I.e. on top of timber etc., recreation is a source of revenue. "Thanks in large part to hunters," I thought.
He moved on to talk about wag bags (to haul out fecal waste). I asked about water waste. He said it was a good question and pointed out above treeline, everything is salt starved. Pee on the rocks and you make a salt lick for them. Keep it off the tundra plants though, because if the nitrogen doesn't kill them, the sheep, goats, and marmots will tear them apart to get to the salt. Blondita behind me is icking and ewing. I'm thinking, "Yeah, chica, hunters have to pack out their urine, primarily so it doesn't scare the game."
Dogs were another topic. The speaker said, "No one says, 'I have bad dogs.' I'll say it. I have bad dogs. That's why they don't hike with me." He was talking about the impact of 100 dogs with half of them being off-leash and under questionable voice command getting into pack mentality. He said there are "pretty much no gun laws up there, except the state laws" however livestock and wildlife are protected from out of control dogs. "Your dog could be shot for being out of control with no repurcussions to the shooter. It's a safety issue for your dog and the animals."
I was waiting for a similar reaction to the hunting statement, but you could hear a pin drop. I couldn't read the room. It did seem that a few people were trying to figure out which cute furry creature to root for.
I had a couple of follow up questions after the presentation. As serendipity would have it, chica was behind me in line. At least she had a nice smile. Firstly, I wanted to ask him about what organization he was talking about. He kept referring to taking volunteers to do trail maintenance. I figured if I can get paid in good karma and get a guide to give me some training, bring it on. He also made a reference to getting in legal trouble for picking tundra flora in Wilderness areas. I thought that was interesting as woodcutting by hand and hunting are allowed.
We discussed it for a couple of minutes and I found it interesting that you can't even use wheelbarrows the regs are so strict. Mainly, for the benefit of whatshername I added, "I'll double check the regs. I've hunted in those areas and I've backpacked and cut wood in them."
*"Poppie" is a SouthAfricanism with no good American translation. The quintessential poppie is in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly0r59GyUjo
I was actually thrilled to be able to see the quintessential Boulder poppie.
At one point he put up a slide of a mountain goat and pointed out that they're non-native to the area. He asked the audience if anyone knew why they were introduced. Several people guessed grazing, etc. and he said "Think of a more sporting purpose". Several of us said, "Oh, hunting." There were some murmurs of realization and some sneers, and this poppie* behind me smirks, "I don't think there are any hunters in THIS room, tee hee." I just quietly raised my hand into her field of vision.
I really wanted to ask her what made her think that. Was it that hunters wouldn't be climbing 14ers? Did you not just hear him say the goats were put there for hunting? How do you think the hunters are getting there? Not only are they taking all the equipment you are, they're also hauling weapons and ammo up and meat out. Don't even get me started on the idea that hunters love the outdoors less than Boulder day-hikers who refuse to camp!
Another person said, "How sad." How sad what? That a non-native species was introduced? Yeah, I've got issues with that myself. But now it's flourishing as a functional part of the eco-system. So, after it's been introduced, it's sad that the DOW is going to manage it? Or just sad people are hunting such pretty creatures? Did you miss the part that they wouldn't BE there if it weren't for the sporting use?
The speaker went on, talking about recreation being considered a "resource" by the forest service. I.e. on top of timber etc., recreation is a source of revenue. "Thanks in large part to hunters," I thought.
He moved on to talk about wag bags (to haul out fecal waste). I asked about water waste. He said it was a good question and pointed out above treeline, everything is salt starved. Pee on the rocks and you make a salt lick for them. Keep it off the tundra plants though, because if the nitrogen doesn't kill them, the sheep, goats, and marmots will tear them apart to get to the salt. Blondita behind me is icking and ewing. I'm thinking, "Yeah, chica, hunters have to pack out their urine, primarily so it doesn't scare the game."
Dogs were another topic. The speaker said, "No one says, 'I have bad dogs.' I'll say it. I have bad dogs. That's why they don't hike with me." He was talking about the impact of 100 dogs with half of them being off-leash and under questionable voice command getting into pack mentality. He said there are "pretty much no gun laws up there, except the state laws" however livestock and wildlife are protected from out of control dogs. "Your dog could be shot for being out of control with no repurcussions to the shooter. It's a safety issue for your dog and the animals."
I was waiting for a similar reaction to the hunting statement, but you could hear a pin drop. I couldn't read the room. It did seem that a few people were trying to figure out which cute furry creature to root for.
I had a couple of follow up questions after the presentation. As serendipity would have it, chica was behind me in line. At least she had a nice smile. Firstly, I wanted to ask him about what organization he was talking about. He kept referring to taking volunteers to do trail maintenance. I figured if I can get paid in good karma and get a guide to give me some training, bring it on. He also made a reference to getting in legal trouble for picking tundra flora in Wilderness areas. I thought that was interesting as woodcutting by hand and hunting are allowed.
We discussed it for a couple of minutes and I found it interesting that you can't even use wheelbarrows the regs are so strict. Mainly, for the benefit of whatshername I added, "I'll double check the regs. I've hunted in those areas and I've backpacked and cut wood in them."
*"Poppie" is a SouthAfricanism with no good American translation. The quintessential poppie is in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly0r59GyUjo
I was actually thrilled to be able to see the quintessential Boulder poppie.
