Camp Mom, when you contact the NPS, tell them you want to apply for an official side trail connecting to the AT in Maine.
Well I've heard a half dozen reports from trail volunteers and maintainers about violations by the business. No one ever told me they weren't true, until Linda reopened the discussion as the new hiking season gets underway.Originally Posted by Skidsteer
The reports of violations ended when MATC complained to the a National Park Ranger and he showed up and talked to the proprietors. I wonder why?
Weary
Yes ,and thank you and all the others who give tirelessly to the trail. Just do not defend trying to bully WHL They are providing a service that to many here like,want, and need.I think a little cooperation in the beginning would have prevented this whole situation.Please cooperate in the future and give some consideration to their needs to make some signage possible like a dozen other clubs do and not hide behind some glib phrase as wilderness when most everyone knows this to not be the case. And again thanks for all the trail work
Hmm. I wonder why I feel a bit bullied by this thread.
I don't really want to get into the middle of this, and I do respect WHL for what it does and have only heard good things from my friends who have visited there. However, I have to agree with Fascinated on this point. It's not their responsibility to send you the form to fill out, it's yours.
And I agree with this point whole heartedly. It really sounds like you run a great place for hikers, so I hope that you fill out the needed paperwork and the process goes smoothly for you.
Don't take anything I say seriously... I certainly don't.
Hmm. I wonder why I feel a bit bullied by this thread.
Because you're reading all the posts twice?Hmm. I wonder why I feel a bit bullied by this thread.
Skids
Insanity: Asking about inseams over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein, (attributed)
Wow! I need to get my 2 cents in here.
Unfortunately, I've never been to this camp in question (WH landing)
I tend to hike the trails for the wilderness experience when i can find it.
I would like to say, I don't like business signs on the trail advertising business catering to hikers.
I also don't like the hut system in the whites that is run by the govt. or their caretaker,the AMC.
I don't see much difference between the two.
IF i had to make a choice between letting the govt. run the hostels, hotels, camps, whatever you want to call them, and private businesses, I would opt for private businesses WITH some restraints.
First of all, not in wilderness areas. (I understand the 100 mile wilderness is far from a wilderness area), so that point is perhaps moot in this circumstance.
I can only begin to imagine what the trail would look like if anyone that owned land near the trail could put up a sign advertising their business. Perhaps many of us would not hike the AT if that were the case.
I think the best compromise at this time is to let the WH camp place find other ways of advertising their business. I remember in the old days, folks that had nearby businesses would sometimes hike into shelters and write directions to their business in the registers. Most everyone read the registers so the information got out to the people who wanted or needed it.
Of course, I haven't (yet) tried the burger. Perhaps I would be the first one arguing for a billboard.
I do believe that we need more people like Weary who spend big parts of their life trying to keep it wild. Sometimes I wish he would compromise a bit more, but he is good for the trail.
Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams
I know we ain't supposed to feed trolls, but I can't help myself.
thanks for putting up a post evern more dumberer than any of mine.
Maybe it is time to change your paradigm. Maybe if you stopped complaining about people not doing things for you and you took some initiative people might be interested in working with you. How about you go and meet these people where they are instead of wanting them to come to you. I mean you are the one wanting something, but you want everyone to hold your hand through it all like a child.
Wrong. It's the hikers who are getting short changed. They are the ones missing Mahar Tote Rd. Mahar Tote Rd. is just one of the roads that intersects the 100 mile stretch. It isn't the WHL folks job to get a road sign put up. This problem could have been solved years ago if it were about a sign. The people in charge could have put up a nice small wooden carved sign that said nothing other than Mahar Tote Road and perhaps the mileage to Abol Bridge. Nothing about WHL. At some later date WHL could have requested that a small sign be added that said WHL Trail with an arrow and a blue dot.
Yeah the MATC could have put a Mahar Tote Road sign up, but when the beneficiaries of that sign go around acting like it is their god given right to put up free advertising on property that they are not the sole owners of they probably got some people pissed off. Now it doesn't sound like WHL has tried to warm up to those pissed off people and instead they just want to sit here and complain. Why should the MATC want to cooperate with WHL when WHL has not shown a bit of cooperation with the MATC?
Why should the MATC want to cooperate with WHL? Because being pissed off is not a valid excuse for a responsible entity to punish a third, uninvolved party, specifically, hikers who miss the WHL access trail or get lost looking for it. The statement that WHL is just complaining is unfair in my opinion. Negative comments have been made and they have every right to respond and tell their side of the story. The statement that WHL has not shown a bit of cooperation is just inaccurate.
i have not been to WHL but would like to go someday. i have been a business owner for sometime now and one of the really important things i have learned is if you really want something you need to do it yourself. that means chase the paperwork and cover all the angles to insure your endeavor is a success. why WHL failed to get the proper permits is baffling considering this has been going on for sometime. most people learn from their mistakes for the most part. get the forms and go thru the proper channels if u want your sign and tote rd.
now if the matc is handing out aceess to signage and trails to other businesses without proper forms then they are not playing fair. in the case of the amc favortism maybe they get it because they are a long standing organization with a pretty large foot print in the east and deserve it. basically if the matc wants it done one way then do it that way and get t he sign legally. it will solve alot of grieff....
BTW, some folk just find bribery unacceptable.
Wow! Some thread y'all got going on here...
AMC got no favoritism, at all.
thank you.You are asking for special treatment. No one owes you a visit or should send you a form. You need to do that yourself. But I will provide a link for you to contact the NPS offices in Harpers Ferry. No charge.
http://www.nps.gov/appa/
Good luck. Seriously. I mean it.
thank you.
You are completely right that with the statement that I underlined, but that is not the way the world works. We do not live in an ideologically perfect world. In the practical world if you want somebody on your side you take the initiative, you go to them, you kiss their butt as much as you need to get the job done.
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