Mr. Timothy Clemans asserts that “everyone should experience the joys and benefits of backpacking.” The heart of my disagreement with him is this simple truth: not everyone should go backpacking. Sure, it’s great for your health to breathe the fresh clear air, spiced with a hint of moose dung, but what about the other side of this issue? Mr. Clemans’ logic, though full of examples, seems short on practical experience. A dozen people can’t walk through a forest, camp, and leave it better than they found it. It just won’t happen. National parks try to limit human impact on the environment, but with little success. In Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska, the National Park Service reports that nearly 10% of camping sites had severe vegetative damage, while 86% had significant human impact. Mr. Clemans himself told a story that demonstrates this. Once when backpacking, he frightened a bald eagle away from the salmon it had just caught. Though the subsequent meal, the experience, and the scenery were, I am sure, great for Mr. Clemans, the eagle was left without a meal. We can enjoy nature without destroying it by backpacking.
In addition, Mr. Clemans says in at least four different ways that camping miles away from civilization is therapeutic. Civilization, I would hasten to point out, includes toilets. If you’ve ever had to take care of business on a cold and wet mountain, you know that “therapeutic” is not the word to describe it. “Fun, physical, and rewarding pastime” indeed.
herbert,
ReplyDeletenot to carry a conversation from one post to another but your blog is messed up. or maybe it's because of the 28 POSTS!!! i can't even put in my 2 cents because of you people that talk way too much and obviously have too much time on your hands.
bobby lee, way to be ambitious. i don't think anybody else has ever written that long of a post on this blog ever. how long did that take you? a whole day?
and to everybody in general, chill out. yes ben gibbard is amazing and cool,i know, but he is just a dude, not some genius who spends four months just to write one song that is in fact about splitting up. yes, i get your point, rob, but please understand mine.(mpk in particular) so let's just cool off and realize that people are just people, whether they be bono or, well, me. ok, so that was a terrible analogy. but you get my point, i hope. see, now you've got me talking way too long. i'll shut up now.
Kano T.
Can you not comment on the other post? I thought somebody was finally going to say that they would never backpack again. Anyhow, yeah, you're cool. I agree, people in general should chill out, but this crowd seems pretty cool. For the most part.
ReplyDeleteKale
Sorry Mark. I shut down the comments on that post because I felt that it was getting ridiculous. If you want, we can carry on the ridiculous thread of conversation on this post. I would also like to say something concerning the previous post: I'm not an anti-patriot. I love America. I just think it could use a good kick in the pants.
ReplyDeleteHerbert, I'm sorry but I am unconvinced. I spent an entire week in the Candian wilderness and I enjoyed it immensely (even when I almost fell off a cliff into the water, and clipped my toe on a rock).
To ensure that the conversation will not die down, I shall say something very controversial: I do not eat meat.
Discuss amongst yourselves. . .
After God has said "Kill and eat" you need to give us a reason for your vegetarianism. Are you disgusted with the meat packing industry? Do you think it's mean to hurt a poor, helpless, animal? Are you trying to return to what a pre-fall state might have been like?
ReplyDelete