The Cat Lady

[Just Bill]

Anybody here got a crazy cat lady in their neighborhood? You know the one who stinks a bit and screams incoherent stuff at the kids who come by. She swishes some ratty old broom at the grown folks as she berates them for raising such crappy kids if they dare complain.


So some folks complain to the mayor and the police here and there, but it turns out the crazy cat lady's husband was fairly wealthy and the house is paid for and then some. She collects a pretty fat pension check and doesn't mind the occasional fine that comes her way. And it turns out that the mayor, police chief, and half the local government is somehow related to her and had connections or owe favors to her late husband.


So eventually everyone learns not to go near her house and leaves her in peace.


I won't single anyone out, but I note many a comment both here and other places that is a bit bothersome. That somehow BSP will suffer if they kick out the trail. Or that it's bad "business" and they'll really be hurting without the attention and honor of hosting the terminus of the trail. That they should get their act together and grow up, learn some real customer service and who its customers are.


Unfortunately you are completely wrong. BSP may be acting like the crazy cat lady and screaming incoherent nonsense. They may indeed be completely out of line in terms of their behavior and actions. They may indeed be chastised for their actions. They may be responsible for some of the trouble. But deep down:


They simply prefer the company of their cats.


Mr. Baxter was a wealthy man, paid off the house and then some. Set up a pretty tight, well managed, heavily funded and iron clad trust to take care of not just the Mrs. but all her kitty cats and their offspring in perpetuity.


And it turns out that durn near every official and local loved Mr. Baxter very much, and while they tolerate the crazy cat ladies rants here and there; they are all somehow related to the Baxter clan and will defend her. They are all deeply obligated and connected to her late husband.


I find it very weird that any who profess to love the woods can find fault with the intent of Baxter State Park. Preservation of Wilderness free of the influence of man. Look past the crazy cat lady on the front porch and see what an amazing thing has been done.


A wilderness preserve crafted so expertly that even the Federal Government can't touch it. A place created that does not depend on humans to visit it. It needs no money, no visitors. It owes nobody any sort of customer service nor is it required to do business with or interact with it's neighbors.


If you crave the wild and free there are truly few places more wild and free than this one in our country. Congress cannot defund it's budget, nor sell off it's lands to some corporation. A state cannot declare it's right to the land in order to "manage" it. People cannot demand that it's use is changed, that some natural resources must be raped from the land for temporary gain.


If you believe that you are above the law and the rules don't apply to you; Well so does the crazy lady sitting on the porch. Her middle finger is up higher than yours. Her hubby was a clever one and don't matter what you gotta say or believe cause the rules don't apply to her and she is actually above the law.


The kittens of the third generation cannot say screw Gramps and sell off the inheritance. Nor can they choose to build a resort to cash in on the gift that has fallen into their lap. They cannot profit in anyway. In the dream come true of every freeloader non-paying hiker who ever walked the trail- BSP has found a way to transcend money and profit. "Its about the greenery not the greenbacks man."


So sorry; "Tough titties and kitty ****ties!" screams the Cat Lady.
Get the hell off my land.


I'd like my kids to be able to walk the AT. I find it very unfortunate that those of you fortunate enough to have done so would even consider taking that opportunity from my children. That you would not fight to preserve what you have enjoyed, even if you never plan to complete the trail as a whole.


The trail is a symbol of many things we all profess to love. A safe haven from the ever creeping town. A dream of nature, commerce, and people in balance. It once stood for the same things that Mr. Baxter stood for. Connection to the land, preservation of it, protection from all outside interests. The opportunities for the appreciation and enjoyment of the people-for generations to come.


The people are last on purpose.


It is a rare gift and privilege that perhaps we don't deserve. If you walked through the woods for over two-thousand miles and don't understand that, I'm with the Cat Lady:


Perhaps Mr. Baxter should close his pearly gates to you when you arrive.




On your way home, perhaps you could stop by my house, and tell my kids why.

[illabelle]

Thank you for that post. Creative, thoughtful, accurate, pertinent. Thank you.

[Old Grouse]

I've long believed that if you want proof of the existence of extra-terrestrials on Earth, just visit the cat food aisle of a 24/7 grocery store at 2 AM. There's a good chance you'll see one.

[moytoy]

Thank you for that post. Creative, thoughtful, accurate, pertinent. Thank you.

Indeed. And I would add clever as well!

[Mags]

Loved the analogy. Thanks for sharing.

[Old Hiker]

Oh, so nicely put, Bill.

I find it very weird that any who profess to love the woods can find fault with the intent of Baxter State Park. Preservation of Wilderness free of the influence of man. Look past the crazy cat lady on the front porch and see what an amazing thing has been done.
"
"Except for ME, ME, ME, ME................ad nauseum. " That's what they sound like to, well, me.

I find it very weird that any who profess to love the woods can find fault with the intent of Baxter State Park. Preservation of Wilderness free of the influence of man. Look past the crazy cat lady on the front porch and see what an amazing thing has been done. A wilderness preserve crafted so expertly that even the Federal Government can't touch it. A place created that does not depend on humans to visit it. It needs no money, no visitors. It owes nobody any sort of customer service nor is it required to do business with or interact with it's neighbors.

Evidently, you don't understand the depths to which the gumm'int will stoop. They will take someone's property that is paying taxes just fine, thank you, just to allegedly make more taxes from the same property.

Still, great piece.

[Another Kevin]

In real life, I'm quite familiar with my neighbourhood's crazy cat lady. (I'm married to her. )

And well said!

I think that the only thing in the country that's even comparable with BSP is the Adirondack and Catskill Parks of New York. The State Forest Preserve was established in 1885, predating every US National Park but Yellowstone. It's an area that would encompass any five of our national parks, or for another comparison, is larger than the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Some people see it as having a morass of rules. In particular, the locals with inholdings almost universally hate the Adirondack Park Authority as being the most meddlesome zoning board in the world. But the park remains a treasure, and hikers, hunters and fishermen can operate there remarkably free of bureaucracy. (The most that I have to do to hike there is pick up a self-issued permit from a box at the trailhead, much like the Shenandoah permits for thru-hikers. In most places I don't even need to do that, just sign the book and go.) Mountain bikers, snowmobilists, and ATV riders chafe at the restrictions - only a tiny fraction of the park is open to them - but I think that's as it should be. The soil is fragile and does not support those activities well. Even the long-established hiking trails tend to acquire a surface best described as "submerged logs and quicksand."

It's protected behind a high wall of laws. It's kept "Forever Wild" by the New York State Constitution. It takes a constitutional amendment to concede any of its land, which in turn requires a majority vote of both houses of the State legislature twice, with an election intervening, plus a popular referendum. It has happened a few times, most prominently for the building of the Olympic ski complex at Lake Placid and for the construction of Interstate 87 linking Albany and Montreal. The occasions are very rare.

We managed to keep the National Park Service out in 1972, when land development in the inholdings without a coherent plan caused a real outcry to create an Adirondack National Park. Instead, we New Yorkers adopted a State Land Master Plan to regulate development and accommodate outdoor recreation without diluting "Forever Wild". It remains hotly debated, with some arguing that the Adirondack Park Agency is simply out to depopulate the Adirondacks, while others argue that the APA sells out to development interests and rapes the forest wherever it can. As long as the healthy arguments rage, I'm confident we're steering a fairly safe middle course. I personally think it errs against historic preservation in favor of wilderness restoration, but can't find it in me to get worked up about that issue. It's also showing strain - likely unavoidable - in a few places. Notably, the Eastern High Peaks are suffering much from overuse. There are simply too many mountaineers who want to have climbed all 46 of them. (That, in turn, may eventually lead me to reconsider my aspiration to be in their number.) But on the whole, it's worked well. The park is still there, and most of it is very, very wild.

The APA is another unaccountable and unelected agency that acts like a crazy cat lady.

I tend to feel the same way about BSP that I do about the State Forest Preserve.: a wilderness surrounded by a wall of laws, creating a body that is seemingly unaccountable but extraordinarily dedicated to preserving an equally extraordinary resource. And the high wall of laws in both places leads a lot of people to beat their heads against the wall.

It's a fine line to walk, because totally cutting off the enjoyment of the people today will mean that there will be no support for preserving it for the enjoyment of the people tomorrow, while open exploitation will leave nothing for the people tomorrow. As long as we still fight over the where the right middle ground stands, I have hope for us. I have little use for the camp that holds that humans are a blight and must be excluded from the wilderness at all costs, or for the camp that holds that land is wasted unless it's working and public land would universally be better off in private hands. Only a vigorous public debate will let us steer a safe course between that Scylla and Charybdis.

Which is what we're seeing. Good for us.

But the crazy cat lady will (rightly) still protect her kitties. And having her hang out her NO TRESPASSING shingle may just be what they need at the moment. Even though that means that I'm fenced off from this treasure. I'm staying off her lawn, even if I'd in another place and time have been one of the neighborhood guys who comes and cuts her grass and paints her porch because, well, she's a little old and can't do it all for herself. I accept that penalty, because I'm part of the problem. (If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. The fact that the problem has descended on me unsought is no excuse.) I manage to be only a tiny bit resentful, but only because I have other treasures to explore, closer to home.

And y'know? I'm realizing that I haven't actually seen a White Blaze in a couple of years. I've been hiking elsewhere. Places that aren't as overburdened. Places where I leave little sign of my passage. Places where taking pictures, and writing, and bringing my friends to see, might actually open people's eyes to the value of preserving them, rather than merely degrading them further. Places where I might hope to add something, rather than simply being another burden.

[Damn Yankee]

You completely described my mother

[Traveler]

Excellent.

[Pedaling Fool]

Actually, I think BSP is more akin to that crazy uncle Joe we all have, you know the one that rants and raves, but everyone just ignores and him and says, oh that's just uncle Joe...

Seems like Mrs. Quimby is the true cat lady of Maine

[RADHiker]

Excellent post, JB. Well said.

[MuddyWaters]

I find no problem with Baxters intent.
I wish the AT shared more of its ideals.

[peakbagger]

Percival Baxter was a dog person. He liked Irish Setters and has several of them over the years, when governor he would stop staff meetings to take the dog out. There is door frame at the state capital that is left unpainted as its covered with scratches from where the dog would scratch the door to get in the governors office. He got a lot of push back when his dog died and he had the states flags flown at half mast. There is a memorial to his dogs on Mackworth Island in Falmouth Maine (he donated the island to the State of Maine for a school for the deaf).

[Pedaling Fool]

Percival Baxter was a dog person. He liked Irish Setters and has several of them over the years, when governor he would stop staff meetings to take the dog out. There is door frame at the state capital that is left unpainted as its covered with scratches from where the dog would scratch the door to get in the governors office. He got a lot of push back when his dog died and he had the states flags flown at half mast. There is a memorial to his dogs on Mackworth Island in Falmouth Maine (he donated the island to the State of Maine for a school for the deaf).

He even took a pic with his dog. He was a very good man! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percival_Proctor_Baxter

[TREKMAN001]

BAMMM!! Another home run by JUST BILL. I sympathize with both sides... my love of nature attracted me to the AT... The reputation it is gaining is driving me more toward the PCT.
I want what Baxter Peak gave me thirty years ago, not some party train that goes on for 2165 miles. What drives us to the trail, also drives us away.

[jdx1177]

OK so what I've learned from this thread is...... If you are tired of having you overly verbose and meandering posts skipped over and buried in the thread they are actually relevant to (of which there are several) start your own thread. Imagine if we all did this the forum would be incoherent haha 😀

[Googan]

Jesus Christ holds the key to the pearly gates, not wealthy Mr. Baxter who's not with us. Laws were created to be broken. When the government decides to take that land they will. It won't have anything to do with a few hikers.

[rafe]

Nice post, Bill. I just don't get the nastiness and loathing directed at BSP, the state of Maine, or even at Bissell. Especially from folks who've never been there.

I've said it before, but Baxter is not like any other place on the AT. Apparently lots of folks still don't get that, or just don't care.

[Googan]

I agree with you, though Bill. We have to respect what we are blessed with!

[rafe]

The APA is another unaccountable and unelected agency that acts like a crazy cat lady.

Haha. For a moment I wondered what the American Psychological Association had to do with any of this. And then it occurred to me that your statement might also hold true for that august body.