Date: 2013-10-30
From: Story Spring Shelter

To: Kelley Stand Road 
Miles today: 1.6
Weather: broken clouds

I slept fairly well, although as a side-sleeper the injury to my left side kept me on my back or right side most of the night. Getting up around 7:00 there was a dusting of snow which continued to fall. The original plan called for 10.4 miles up and over Stratton Mountain to Stratton Pond Shelter. However, I wasn't carrying a tent, and I had some concerns about how fast I could go in the snow and to what extent I would be hampered by injury. With that in mind, I decided to take a Forest Service Road at mile 1.6 and hitch or walk to Rte 100 and from there to the car at VT 11/30. A Forest Service truck passed me and I stuck out my thumb. The driver, Ross Elliot, told me they can't transport anyone unless they're injured. I told him I understood but mentioned the fall and mild injury to my left side. He interpretted that as sufficient to meet policy, perhaps lenient on his part but much appreciated on mine. On the ride to my car, I mentioned the wilderness designation afforded to the Glastonbury Mountain area and the reduced trail maintenance, etc. We had a discussion of what the philosopy should be, in terms of taking a completely hands off attitude toward wilderness or managing the resource to make it more accessible to the public. One of my fellow churchgoers used to tell a story, about a farmer who took over a long-abondoned farm, whipped it back into shape, and was showing it to his Pastor. The Pastor looked at all the improvements and repetitiously praised God's handiwork. The farmer went along for a while, then finally said "Look Pastor, you should have seen the place while God was in charge!"Back when I was hiking through the Smokies I noticed that in places the trail was supported by substantial amounts of stonework and would be much more difficult in the absence of the trail-building that took place in the 1930's and since. To me this is a good idea since otherwise I wouldn't be able to go there. At this point, the Forest Service, due to budget constraints, is not maintaining some of the fire roads. Clearing the brush on and around them is hard work, and those who do it look to be paid for their efforts. Meanwhile snowmobiling is a popular activity and funds are expended to provide abundant access to snowmobile trails. There was the place on the AT down in Tennessee where a section had been cleared in front of a memorial bench in order to create a view, a very pleasant spot to pause and enjoy the scenary. I lean toward the view that rather than keeping the wilderness "pristine" we should work a little more on making it accessible. The fire trails are easy walking and typically arnen't graded steeper than 15 degrees. So I don't see why they shouldn't be maintained. Plus, they would still be available in the event of a forest fire. There are other views. City Slicker doesn't like the trend where the AT will someday be 3,000 miles long, all switchbacks. After hiking areas that were swithbacked by Bob Peoples and the Hardcore work crews, I think it's a lot better than just running straight up and down, creating streambeds where erosion is unchecked, and then having hikers ankle deep in it every time it rains. Not to mention the reduced risk of blowing out your knees. Of course the weather soon changed for the better - Ross told me that there was a heat wave predicted. By the time I was driving home it was in the 50's, and I had missed out on some good hiking weather. Oh well. On the way home, I stopped at a prep school that I attended from grades 9 to 12, and by coincidence they had a group of students preparing for a hike when I arrived. I had a nice discussion with one of them, as well as the teacher who was leading the hike. I think it's a good activity for students, to give them an idea of what's out there and an appreciation for nature and preserving what we have for the enjoyment of future generations.