new device can track number of hikers on the trail

[hopefulhiker]

http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stor...61987379.shtml

[Dogwood]

The site mentions one possible way that this information and technology can be utilized. OR, it could just be defined as another surveillance device and the info used in an assortment of different ways.

[Fiddleback]

Instant flashback to the 60's and the Ho Chi Ming trail where hidden/disguised devices tracked people, vehicles/elephants...

Of course it's the 60's...where else would one flash back to...?

FB

[Homer&Marje]

Hopefully these ones aren't set up with claymores

[buckwheat]

Hopefully these ones aren't set up with claymores

Nah,

All the claymores are being donated to the Goodwill.

[Homer&Marje]

Nah,

All the claymores are being donated to the Goodwill.

I switched over to the PETA story on that link Who donates a claymore? Way more fun to set it off in the back yard I'm sure...

[The Old Fhart]

There were at least 2 hiker counters on the A.T. in 1998 so this isn't a new thing.

[toegem]

http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stor...61987379.shtml

The Woods Have Eyes, for sure!

[Lillianp]

That's a bit creepy, but I can understand why people would want to know how many people are on the trails.

[superman]

Instant flashback to the 60's and the Ho Chi Ming trail where hidden/disguised devices tracked people, vehicles/elephants...

Of course it's the 60's...where else would one flash back to...?

FB

I think it was early 67 when we took a brand new perimeter early warning devises out of a VC basecamp near the Cambodian border. Supposedly, those devices hadn't been unloaded off a ship in Saigon yet. They had a big bank of radios and all the same gear and weapons we had. My CO (Lt Gen. Robert Schweitzer) lobbied for many years after Vietnam for weapons that couldn't be used by anyone else but who they were issued to. I've always had mixed feelings about that. I'd like to see a tracking system so we don't lose any more American POWs.
Not a flash back...just sayen.

[Deadeye]

A simple counter - can't track you, or identify you (yet). No big deal to me. The data collected can help provide information on trail usage (we all know not all hikers sign in at trail registers) so that resources (dollars and hours) can be allocated sensibly.

[Ox97GaMe]

They are using counters in the privies at the shelters in the Smokies. This is to track usage. Since the back country privy idea is new in the park, they are trying to assess the life expectancy of a privy bin. Things like number of hikers before the pit is full and amount of mulch used. Since the park doesnt track day hikers and tourists, only number of folks that obtain back country camping permits, this information is proving to be quite valuable.

As noted in an earlier post, there have been counters on the trail for a number of years. They were pretty primitive devices that incremented whenever something passed through a beam on the trail. The problem with this type of counter is that any creature (deer, bear, dog, bird, butterfly, etc) could also trigger the counter, simply by passing through this beam.

[Mags]

The Woods Have Eyes, for sure!

...at least on the Benton MacKaye Trail.