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Are
you a Yahoo? by Bill
Burke
Dateline:
the near future
Location: your
local national forest or BLM land
Situation: trail
has a locked gate across it with sign "CLOSED TO MOTOR
VEHICLES"
Problem: back-country
land abuse rears its ugly head in the form of ignorant,
uncaring, and/or outright stupid people!
I am angry. I won't even
go into all the 4-wheel drive roads that Rachel and I have
hiked on and the sickening things we saw--trees with deep
cuts around their circumference from YAHOOS not using tree
straps for winching; trash and empty bottles tossed
everywhere; burn scars and errant fire rings to name a
few.
How hard is it to buy and
use a tree strap? Why do you have to hurt the trees? How
hard is it to bring along a trash bag? Why can't you take
your trash home and put it in your trash can? How hard is it
to use an existing fire ring (or stove, for that matter)?
Why can't you bring in fire wood from the store (not
pallets) instead of ripping our trees apart?
Why do you have to ruin it
for everybody?
I am so angry that my
first thought was that YAHOOS ought to be forced to watch
their own truck getting beaten to a pulp with a large
hammer, until the truck is in pieces and can't be driven.
Because that is what they are doing to our public lands and
they don't care.
Television commercials add
to YAHOOism by setting up the "splash and crash syndrome."
Commercials peddle sensationalism in the form of racing,
puddle-jumping, and mud-splashing SUV's. The young miscreant
is so television-oriented that they see this as a way of
life. By the time they put their disclaimer at the end of
the commercial, if they even bother to do it, it's too late.
The subconscious mind of the 4-wheel drive adventure machine
owner or soon-to-be owner is already at work! But what
they're really selling is trail closings. Do you
...go around the challenge
instead of dealing directly with an obstacle on the road
right-of-way, creating "ghost trails," "volunteer trails,"
and "braiding" (going around obstacles)?
...get bored with the easy
track and look off the 4-wheel drive road to create your own
tough obstacles?
...go faster than
necessary on an innocent road?
...spin tires helplessly
on hills and fragile wet meadow areas?
...wrap winch cables
around a tree?
...not know map and
compass and then get lost?
...rip trees, leave trash,
roll over, crash?
Then you, too, are a YAHOO
and you are the one who is ruining it for those of us who
want to see the roads stay open and enjoy the untrampled
wildlands! You are the one who is getting the trails
closed.
To put it in a little more
perspective, let's say your doctor says you need an
operation or you could die. You have choices:
1. Circumvent the operation and create a worse
situation.
2. Grit your teeth and have the surgery.
3. Seek alternative options.
In that same vein, you
come to a difficult section of a trail. You have choices
here, too.
1. Go around the obstacle and create a worse
situation.
2. Grit your teeth and accept the challenge.
3. Turn around and find a different route.
The finesse of 4-wheeling
is to keep all four tires on the ground and to keep them
from spinning loose, either going up or down, especially on
challenge sections. The common sense of 4-wheeling is to
stay on the road, pack your trash out, and camp using Leave
No Trace ethics.
"Dear Mr. Burke -- I work
for Alex Van Hemert at the Moab BLM. I am writing this to
commend you for your most excellent article in the Zephyr
regarding four wheel drive etiquette. I only wish that we
could make this required reading for every machine operator
who comes to Moab for recreation..." (K. Stevens, 3/00)
©Bill Burke’s 4-Wheeling America LLC
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Bill
Burke's 4-Wheeling America LLC
