Wingfoot

[saimyoji]

it really is just walkin' and lotsa folks did it before websites and such. it ain't rocket science as they say

BS....not just walking. not rocket science, but there is much more to spending days/weeks in the woods and you know it. the knowledge and experience and expertise you have allow you to simplify it.....but to someone totally new, its much much more than "just walking."

[weary]

saddleback is hardly wild

Of course not. None of the trail is truly wild. Some of us, like wingfoot, try to keep it as wild as possible.

Damascus is a delightful town. But few of us would hike the trail if it becomes a series of Damascuses.

The Saddleback owner dreamed of covering the hillside with condos. Would that have been an improvement over the admittedly less than wilderness that existed at the time of the controversy?

ATC gave up the battle. AMC gave up the battle. Only Wingfoot -- and a few of us in MATC and in the surrounding towns -- had the courage to fight on.

Weary

[Jim Adams]

Wingfoot is one of the rare genuine heroes of the Appalachian Trail. He devoted much of his life to keeping the traiL as wild as a trail can be that is a day's drive from a majority of Americans.

His battle to keep Saddleback wild is univerally praised by PR types who observed its intelligence and skill. Wingfoot designed a program that allowed every responder to fill in a form that was then used to automatically generate a distinct personal message to key WAshington legislators and trail bureaucrats.

Unfortunately, the White Blaze bigots couldn't place the trail above their anger, and mostly refused to participate.

Despite that, the 4,000 responses that Wingfoot generated, produced the compromise that kept the top of the mountain range wild. Yes, the cost was an outrageous $4 million to American taxpayers. But that was not Wingfoot's fault. It was the fault of those who could not put aside petty differences, and see wisdom even when it was prominently displayed.

Wingfoot was not always so wise. He even kicked me off his site a couple of times. But on the key issues Wingfoot was right. He deserves praise, not condemnation.

Weary

GREAT post Weary!

geek

[Jack Tarlin]

Wow.

Weary, to my knowledge, has spent most of the last 80 years living and working in Maine, and has spent much of his time walking it's wild country, and serving as a tireless advocate for its preservation.

Lone Wolf is a transplanted Virginian by way of Rhode Island, who has maybe visited Maine briefly three times in the last ten years, and maybe not even that, but wants us to think he's an expert nonetheless on its history and backcountry.

This could get fun.

[Lone Wolf]

have some more bourbon

[saimyoji]

have some more bourbon

its just drinkin'.

[mudcap]

BS....not just walking. not rocket science, but there is much more to spending days/weeks in the woods and you know it. the knowledge and experience and expertise you have allow you to simplify it.....but to someone totally new, its much much more than "just walking."

Totally agree...LW just spews to stir his pot. Sad,really it is. He must own this sight,or would have been banned long ago....

[Lone Wolf]

Totally agree...LW just spews to stir his pot. Sad,really it is. He must own this sight,or would have been banned long ago....

huh? this makes no sense

[mudcap]

Of course not. None of the trail is truly wild. Some of us, like wingfoot, try to keep it as wild as possible.

Damascus is a delightful town. But few of us would hike the trail if it becomes a series of Damascuses.

The Saddleback owner dreamed of covering the hillside with condos. Would that have been an improvement over the admittedly less than wilderness that existed at the time of the controversy?

ATC gave up the battle. AMC gave up the battle. Only Wingfoot -- and a few of us in MATC and in the surrounding towns -- had the courage to fight on.

Weary

Well said,as usual LW is just mad at the world... maybe he needs a BETTER hobby than WB,look at that post count. How many say anything positive?

[Lone Wolf]

Well said,as usual LW is just mad at the world... maybe he needs a BETTER hobby than WB,look at that post count. How many say anything positive?

you're obsessed with me, muddy

[saimyoji]

Totally agree...LW just spews to stir his pot. Sad,really it is. He must own this sight,or would have been banned long ago....

don't think for a second that you and i are on the same page. i respect Wolf and would diss him like that. i just disagree with him on some aspects. sometimes we overlook our own expertise ad think that others don't measure up because we have a dearth of knowledge / ability that others haven't even been exposed to yet.

you should seek medical help for your rectal cranial inversion.

[saimyoji]

don't think for a second that you and i are on the same page. i respect Wolf and wouldn't diss him like that. i just disagree with him on some aspects. sometimes we overlook our own expertise ad think that others don't measure up because we have a dearth of knowledge / ability that others haven't even been exposed to yet.

you should seek medical help for your rectal cranial inversion.

..........

[mudcap]

don't think for a second that you and i are on the same page. i respect Wolf and would diss him like that. i just disagree with him on some aspects. sometimes we overlook our own expertise ad think that others don't measure up because we have a dearth of knowledge / ability that others haven't even been exposed to yet.

you should seek medical help for your rectal cranial inversion.

expertise? what would that be?

[weary]

have some more bourbon

And you too.

Weary, who had one of his front teeth pulled today and is trying to get used to a $950 "temporary" replacement. I scan the obits from time to time. I tried to tell these dentist type guys that the 80s are a dangerous time for humans, that the existing tooth had a good chance of lasting as long as I might.

However, I do believe in statistics. Very few people in their 90s seem to die, compared with the number that die in their 80s. If I can last another nine years, this replacement tooth may be worthwhile.

But, Lone Wolf, a bit of bourbon is a good idea. Try some. I bought a small bottle of "cheap" New Hampshire Maker's Mark on the way back from the ATC conference in Vermont. I'm going to have some right now.

[The Weasel]

Geez. All this sturm und drang on WB about a guy who has long since past moved on to other things and never even admitted to visiting here. Amazing.

TW

[BigFoot2002]

Dearth of knowledge? Dearth of knowledge? We get exposed to that every day here.....

[mudcap]

you're obsessed with me, muddy

NO obsession at all...for the life of me I can not understand why people fall for your bully crap. I bet,behind the curtain you are actually a decent person,,,but you hide it well. Folks need to grow a set. Freaken sheep!

[BobTheBuilder]

Back on task here people, back on task. I stand for everything politically that Wingfoot is not, but I use his book and hike the same trail he hiked. Am I a bad person?

[saimyoji]

WF threads will always draw out the polarized minority.

[pyroman53]

I bought a small bottle of "cheap" New Hampshire Maker's Mark on the way back from the ATC conference in Vermont. I'm going to have some right now.

Now that's what I'm talking about! Havin some myself right about now.

This discussion does make me think about how different things are from when we (I) started out back in the day. We didn't know what was down the trail. We just had the guidebooks, and had to search out the trail crossings to even access some parts of the trail. We relied on the few friends we had that also hked. Now, EVERYTHING is laid out there in advance. We know what the shelters look like. Which ones have mice problems. Which hostels and shuttlers provide what services. We can't head out without knowing what the springs are doing. What the bears are doing. What the menu is at the AYCE buffet. I'm as guilty as anyone and I'm not sayin its wrong, but it may not be better...just different. The joy of discovery is harder to find.

One thing rings true through it all...its just walkin, and staying watered, warm, and dry between point A and B.