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1 April 2005
After
visiting EJS 2005 – my thoughts!! - By Bill Burke
I am
displeased, disgusted, angry and afraid!! Why? I just returned from
the Moab area after two weeks ‘wheeling around and spending time
with new and old friends and my family. I spent some time on the
hard as well as the easy routes and what I saw (witnessed actually
is the term) incited me to come up with the adjectives I started
this diatribe with and believe me I toned the adjectives down!
I have been
guiding/training in and around Moab for about 18 years and have
attended as many Easter Jeep Safari events. I have attended many
national and international events and have been lucky to ‘wheel in
some of the most pristine world class areas as well as some garbage
dumps! What I saw this last week really sickened me and makes me
wonder why I continue to be aligned with this sport and the people
that purport to really care where and how they drive on designated
4-wheel drive routes in public access areas. I am not talking about
the OHV parks or the Rock Crawling events on private lands, I am
expressing this disdain about the “guests” that are invited to
‘wheel in my back yard where I work, live and play. They basically
left the toilet full of effluence, no toilet paper, the sink full of
dirty dishes and soiled my finest linen – that is how I see it. Here
is how I actually saw it!
Displeased!
Following “rock crawling” type built rigs along Pritchett Canyon,
these overly built rigs couldn’t make the rock pile so they drove
into the wash and the illegal by-pass made by other weak-kneed
wannabees that can build a rig but not drive on a difficult
obstacle. HEY! You made the choice and selected the VDL hard core
route, deal with the obstacles. Take a strap or use the winch, but
stay true to the route. If you can’t do the original route don’t
drive up Pritchett! Better yet stay home on the porch ‘cause you may
have a “big dog” rig but you are certainly not up to the “big dog”
task!
Disgusted!
Driving along the route called Metal Masher, my son and I observed
where there used to be an obstacle that was (still is) quite
challenging -- a large slick rock face steep and tall. It was
obviously not enough for the “rock rig wannabees” since they had to
move over foot by foot to assault the entire ledge for the next 25
yards sideways. The big moment of disgust was when I saw that the
Juniper trees (maybe as old as 125 years) that happened to be in the
way were crushed and broken in pure indolence and with complete
disregard to the natural habitat of the revered old flora. Just
wasted the two trees ‘cause they couldn’t hurt the tube frame and
already dented body panels. Ammunition for the SUWA folks!
Angry! To put
it mildly! I was with clients along the routes of Gold Bar Rim, Bull
and Little canyons and we stopped repeatedly to pick up trash along
the miles of routes we ran that day. We picked up 53 beer cans, 14
plastic drink bottles, cardboard beer cases, a cooler top, and 2
tee-shirts, among other items. We buried 4 piles of human effluence
and exposed toilet paper and tried to smooth over 5 different impact
areas where vehicles had driven over prime Cryptobiotic forests
leaving tire prints and destruction for really no reason at all
other than to “rip it up!” This was only on one of the many days
that followed. There is no excuse for that type of wanton
destruction, especially since there is so much information in the
public arena about the fragile Cryptobiotic soil: DON’T BUST THE
CRUST! It is everywhere, just like the plentiful information about
HYDRATE OR DIE! Do these people drain the oil on their living room
rugs? Do these people even care about ethics?
Afraid! Yes, I
am afraid that these people have reinforced the already bad image
the general public has about 4-wheelers. So now I have to hang my
head down in shame when I visit the local business people in Moab
because of the stigma attached to what a few (not as few as one
would think) bad apples have done to the desert roads. It just gives
groups like SUWA, Sierra Club, the BLM and USFS more ammunition for
road closure and to establish more Wilderness Study areas. Because,
if those that use it don’t care enough and continue to abuse it, the
privilege to recreate on primitive roads in pristine back-country
regions will be easier to close and certainly easier to legislate
Fee areas and restrictive access. We might as well as start building
private OHV parks like the East Coast regions have to do. Or do we
restrict the buggy types to only OHV parks and enforce lift, bumper
height and tire diameter laws. Or do we close “it” all and just
stand against the fence and sigh away the hours?
So, yes, I am
afraid! Because these uncaring individuals that actually make up a
large group are threatening my livelihood, recreation and
environment. We should all be afraid what these people
represent. I am sure SUWA loves it.
All the
insightful diatribes from the vociferous ‘wheelers about boycotting
this establishment or that business amounts to NOTHING and falls on
deaf ears when ones backyard is so scurrilously vandalized by what
Edward Abbey once coined as “SLOBIVIUS AMERICANUS” are doing to our
sport and our land.
Everyone that
operates a motorized vehicle should be required to read “Desert
Solitaire” by Abbey, in order to get a license. There needs to be a
resurgence of a new ethic for the way ‘wheelers should treat this
fragile land we are loving to death and closure.
If you build a
“rock buggy” type rig so you can attack and conquer, then by all
means use it to that end in the area or park made for that. But when
‘wheeling on established 4wd routes, stay on the road and enjoy the
journey not the thrill of conquering big rocks off the route and
smashing trees and rolling over Cryptobiotic soil. Back country
travel and 4-wheeling is about the journey, not fighting nature with
machine. If you are one of those that needs to fight nature then go
SWIM WITH THE SHARKS! I am sure they will have fun with your body.
And we that share an environmental ethic will not even remotely
miss. Can you say: “Gene pool selection” and Darwin awards?
Displeased
because these “slobivius americanus” exist and recreate with
impunity.
Disgusted
these people can actually hold a driver’s license and call
themselves 4-wheelers.
Angry there
are so many of these “bad apples” that the numbers are getting
larger and those that care about ethics seem to be getting smaller.
Afraid that
the actions of these uncaring, indolent, boorish imbeciles will
drive the general public and land managing agencies to start really
pushing for road closure, vehicle build restrictions and more
government interference.
We should all
be afraid. We should all care about environmental ethics and
appropriate behavior when operating motorized vehicles on public
access lands especially in fragile remote regions.
We need to
WAKE UP and start working on the tarnished image that seems to be
getting more tarnished as we drive along.
Bill Burke
Click here to learn about Cryptobiotic soil
"The
training that you
provided
the
[Solihull
Society Land
Rover
Club]
is
invaluable... I have
a much
better
feel for what
hard-core
wheeling
is all about
and have a much better
appreciation for
what
the truck
is
capable
of...
Thanks again
for the
experience and allowing
me to gain
the confidence
necessary to tackle the
more
interesting
challenges."
(Mark Stolte, CO, 3/03)
"No matter what
your
level
of
off-road driving,
time
spent
with Bill
will help
you
reach even higher."
(Brad DeLong, author 4-Wheel Freedom)
"For less cash than the
cost of recovering a vehicle from a back
country crisis,
drivers can experience the pleasures and pains
of primitive
roads under the watchful eye of a well-equipped
guide and
instructor, learning the abilities as well as the limits
of
their vehicle." (Charley Able, Rocky Mountain News,
1996)
"Bill was great.
You couldn't ask for a better instructor..."
(T. Hoffman,
Issaquah, WA, 7/01).
If you would like
Bill
Burke to hold a
driver training class
for your
club,
organization,
company, agency,
family, friends, etc.,
please email or call
us at 970-858-3468
for details and
prices.
Bill Burke holds BLM & USFS
permits
to operate on public lands.
Cancellation,
Liability and Safety Policy
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Burke's 4-Wheeling America LLC
