2022-02-02, 05:57 PM
I for one, enjoy reading people's trip reports. It's becoming more and more unlikely that I'll be hiking many of these routes, as the body ain't what is used to be, and it wasn't much to start with. So, the reports lets me see a part of the area that I wouldn't otherwise be able to.
But I have similar feelings on some of the wheeling roads we frequent. Yep, it's all public land, and everyone has the right to explore it. The more well known routes I'll post a trip report. But there are some roads that simply do no get talked about. The historical artifacts at the end of these routes are ripe for scavenging, and while there is nothing to stop people, hopefully the difficulty of the road will reduce the potential for vandalism. No need to make it an attractive target.
Now, if someone asks me about them privately, and I can trust that they won't spill the beans, I'll be glad to tell them what I know, or even arrange to go wheel with them.
All this is not to say that these areas shouldn't be visited, but it would be nice if my son would be able to see this stuff in 30 years, without it being destroyed. A great case in point is Panamint City. My first trip there was 1969. It was a simple 2wd dirt road. My last trip was 2009. Not so simple now. But the damage caused since 2000 is particularly disappointing.
David Bricker / SYR
But I have similar feelings on some of the wheeling roads we frequent. Yep, it's all public land, and everyone has the right to explore it. The more well known routes I'll post a trip report. But there are some roads that simply do no get talked about. The historical artifacts at the end of these routes are ripe for scavenging, and while there is nothing to stop people, hopefully the difficulty of the road will reduce the potential for vandalism. No need to make it an attractive target.
Now, if someone asks me about them privately, and I can trust that they won't spill the beans, I'll be glad to tell them what I know, or even arrange to go wheel with them.
All this is not to say that these areas shouldn't be visited, but it would be nice if my son would be able to see this stuff in 30 years, without it being destroyed. A great case in point is Panamint City. My first trip there was 1969. It was a simple 2wd dirt road. My last trip was 2009. Not so simple now. But the damage caused since 2000 is particularly disappointing.
David Bricker / SYR
DV Rat. Live upstate NY, play Death Valley, retiring to Hawaii. '95 Cherokee, barely.