The Pacific Crest Trail ranges from Canada to Mexico, running through Washington, Oregon, and California along the way, traversing not one but seven units of the National Park System in the process.
On its way north and south portions of the trail touch or run through parts of Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park, Devils Postpile National Monument, Crater Lake National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, Lassen Volcanic National Park, and North Cascades National Park.
While mountain bikers are not supposed to use the Pacific Crest Trail, recently some have been poaching sections in California. While the poaching did not occur in any national park sections, some have concerns that a rule currently pending in the Interior Department could open more national park trails to mountain bikes and, in the process, lead to the following scenario.
In its February issue, the PCT Communicator, the magazine of the Pacific Crest Trail Association, reported on trail damage committed by mountain bikes near the Parks Creek Trailhead in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in California.
From Big Bear to the Tehachapi Mountains in southern California, to Donner Summit and the Sierra Buttes north of Lake Tahoe, to Castle Crags and beyond, mountain bikes on the trail are causing damage and creating a number of "PCT Places in Need."
According to the trail association, "under U.S. Government regulation, bikes are prohibited in the PCT. The rationale for the prohibition of bicycles is based on the "nature and purpose" of the PCT, as dictated by the intent of Congress with the National Trails System Act and subsequent regulations designed to protect the experience of the primary users. The Code of Federal Regulations (36 CRF 212) directs that "The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail as defined by the National Trails Systems Act, 82 Stat. 919, shall be administered primarily as a footpath and horseback riding trail."
"Unfortunately, however, U.S. regulations and regulators have not, thus far, been able to fully curb the illegal use of the PCT by mountain bikers," adds the article. "The resulting trail damage and user conflicts can't be taken lightly. To complicate matters, bikes are permitted on many trails that lead to the PCT, resulting in bikers reaching the PCT on such trails and then proceeding along the PCT to pick up another feeder trail. Given land management agency staffing and budget issues, policing and enforcement is sorely lacking."
The article goes on to point out the problems associated with mountain bikes on the Pacific Crest Trail: the trail was not engineered to handle mountain bike traffic, it can be easily and quickly ripped up by bikes riding in wet and muddy conditions, erosion problems can arise.
"I can't stress enough the importance of responsible trail users reporting illegal uses of the PCT," says Ian Nelson, the trail association's regional representative for northern California and southern Oregon. "It is crucial that we hear from concerned users so that we and our agency partners can strategize as to how to curb the illegal use."
Comments
why don't we ask the deer and bear who the want to hang with and get the lawyers sue anyone the animals don't see eye to eye with by the way i wish there were more people out in nature then maybe we would not want to rape our school system and steal our kids ability to get an education as well as enjoy the natural world. my son is 11 and loves nature he wants to ride his Mt Bike from mammoth to yosemite . I wonder if the animals would rather see a kid and his dad ride by or smell the exhaust of the 3.8 million tourist a year who fly to cal and get on a bus to yosemite and take a few pictures and say i need to save this place from people who gave up on cities and lawyers and oppressing others years ago and left the city and came back to nature. I wonder how the people who live in nature feel about others in nature I am no angel but i lived off the pacific ocean for 11 years and lived in the cascades for 10 years before that i have pulled people out of the ocean who would have died if not for others in nature with them and i have pulled dead people out of nature because they screwed up and there was no one there to save them I have dug people out of avalanches because I saw them get buried nature can't type or sue the only real place that people who enjoy solace (inconsolable more likely) are disturbed is at their computers bitching about the unfairness of three people who want to use 9 million acres for different recreation . to equate not being able to ride your bike or have to see a bike on your trail to slavery is funny to me because i'll never see you people in nature and if i was hiking and u were biking i would rejoice in your sharing nature with me or if i were on a horse and you were walking I would offer you company and any help you might need and a smile my point is those of us who really embrace nature don't want to stop others from enjoying nature WE look at others in the natural world as allies in the life or death struggle that is nature by the way you don't have to camp out on the pct between Mammoth and yosemite this summer along with respect for nature i also am teaching my son respect for the law (not to be confused with lawyers) so we will gladly hike the pct and smile and embrace fascists , bikers , horseback riders , parachuters , pogo stickers and any other people along the way .as far as a 600 pound horse and his 200 pound rider be easier on the trail then a mountain bike i would like to see that data I grew up with horses and motorcycles and saw the conflict when you bring them together but mt. bikes and horses on the other hand, really? ok !
signed i love fascism aka steve in mammoth
P S shouldn't we sue the yellow jackets they get so aggressive in the summer heatthats a joke for anyone who has actually been in nature
Mountain bikes cause no more damage to trails than hikers. This is all our public land and should be shared. I have been doing both for 20 years. I see the big picture.
While I certainly think there are trails that should be kept to hikers only, it is absolutely absurd to think that mountain bikers cause more trail damage than horses. I can't tell you how many trails I've ridden that were absolutely littered with pothole as a result of horses stepping through soft ground, especially when there is a significant burrowing mammal population. Any mode of transportation can wreck a muddy trail, and certain horses are as bad as mountain bikes in this regard, if not worse. If the PCT, and other trails, were closed to all traffic but hikers, I could understand the rationale, but anyone claiming that horses cause less trail damage than mountain bikes, all things being equal, either doesn't know any better or is a liar. Oh and my mountain bike doesn't randomly shit in the middle of the trail. I'd be arrested if I did that. Horses are by far the largest burden, both on a trail itself and on other users of the trail, and it is simply the coincidence of money and equestrian pursuits that has allowed them the access they currently enjoy.
To put the counterproductivity of the no-bicycles-on-trails crusade in perspective, the OECD reports that 75% of Americans will be overweight or obese by 2020:
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/02/21/429246/75-percent-of-american...
It is amazing that there are people working hard to keep Americans from getting healthy exercise on trails if it happens to be on a bicycle.
The other day I was riding my bicycle on a California highway with beautiful redwoods alongside, and trails on both sides of the road. These trails, I'm told, go virtually unused. But they're not open to bicycles. So I contended with irritable commuters roaring past my elbow at top speed on the shoulderless sections of the highway.
At one point I stopped to rest (it had been a long climb) and admire the view of the ocean. My reverie was interrupted by a loud braying of horns and a woman screaming "go!" and "move, you [expletive] idiot!" Two cars had slowed to make a right turn and she couldn't stand the 20-second interruption of her mad dash to wherever she was going.
This is an insane situation.
Jeri Lee, I can't quite follow your argument. What is exactly your point?
Does your own statement above not list the PCT shopudl be available for all? MTB users/riders are a large segment of the outdoor populace.
Also, equines do far more environmental damage than mountain bikes do.
I say share the trail and all trails for ALL just as you state in your article.
Mtn bikers shoulder be allowed on all trails, they cause no more damage than any other activity. If damage is caused, it could be from any disrespectful hiker, equestrian, or biker. If everyone resected one another and whatever there passion may be, we all could enjoy the beautiful trails and parks that this country has to offer.
mountainbikes damage trails? in my experience horses are far far worse and nobody seems to have issues with them. it's the cuteness factor horses have and mountainbikes lack.