Thursday, October 8, 2009

Just When you Think You’ve Seen it All

Yesterday I was climbing into the hills for my routine hike when I noticed two fellow hikers that looked relatively "normal" from the front: shorts, t-shirts, running shoes, shades. Not until one of them turned around did I notice the long board strapped to his back. Yes long board, as in a longer, slightly thicker and burlier version of a skateboard. I have heard about people taking to the trails with their boards (of various types) but I didn’t really believe it was happening. (This story, by the way, is not about long boarding on hiking trails – just so you know). I was pretty surprised and wanted to spy long enough to see what was going to happen when this fellow got to the top of the trail. This particular trail has some pretty nice steep sections with large rocky areas. Thus, this could get interesting. But wait, was it OK to just let it happen without saying something? This was clearly an activity that was not exactly appropriate on these trails, or legal for that matter. What does that say about my outdoor ethic if I am turning a blind eye? Is that Leave No Trace? At the same time, I was also really enjoying my own solo experience and didn’t want to be bothered with an ethical dilemma that day on the trail. This guy and I were not practicing the same religion and I knew it. So I left it and him alone…

1 comment:

Fred Theilig said...

That's probably what I would do as well. I've seen minibike and atv riders (which do much more damage than skate boards) on trails that are clearly marked otherwise, and haven't spoken up. If the opportunity arose to make a friendly reminder of the rules, I feel that would suffice.