"Country Home" gets Joy riled

“I got my April issue of "Country Home" magazine yesterday. It's generally a decorating and antique oriented magazine with a bit of gardening thrown in. What do I find nestled within it's pages but an article about the least visited "National Treasures" aka parks! "Everyone needs to visit these beautiful national parks with plenty of elbow room" These include Isle Royale, Apostle Islands, Redwood, Voyaguers and others. I hate it when these perfect little backpacking getaways get hyped as a wonderful vacation destination for the multitudes! They're great places to go because everyone isn't going there and trashing them. Every one of the article segments highlighted the towns around the parks or lodges in the parks at least. Hopefully there won't be a bunch of under prepared, overpacked tourists trying to make their way around Isle Royale this summer. Selfish of me? YES!”

“Joy, that magazine is geared towards the geriatric set (although I enjoy it also, lots of nice pics and no ads!). I wouldn't worry about it affecting you too awful much.”

“I hear the woods are a great place to find trilliums for the garden and a great source of pine cones and such for center pieces and unique gift items. If you take your spray paint there, you can do the spraying on the forest floor and you won't have to worry about overspray in your basement or hobby hutch!”

“You being up a good question that has no good answer. Do you keep those treasures a secret so they are not overrun or do you let everyone know about it so that you can build public support for its protection?

I have voiced an opinion that National Park status is not always a good thing. It brings the pressures of more visitors and the numerous rules needed to keep the place from being loved to death. I think a mix of parks, multiuse forest, protected wilderness and private land can work pretty good at filling the needs of all. At least within the limits of what the land can sustain. This mix is not in balance in many areas. Utah has what, five national parks. Idaho has none (except a sliver of Yellowstone) but does have generous amounts of federally protected wilderness. I think the BLM owns all of Nevada. From what I read here it sounds like back east (sorry Oldie, Minnisooota is east to me) there is not much protected wilderness outside of the national parks. For backpacking a federally protected wilderness is better that a national park. If you have opportunity to comment on what type of land protection is to be used for an area and you want to backpack there, argue for wilderness designation.”

“Thank goodness you can't drive to Isle Royale. Have they upgraded the amenities at the Rock Harbor lodge? If it is still as simple as it used to be, then even the Country Living set will be disappointed. And the trails will keep them at bay. I'm worried they'll keep me at bay anymore! LOL

But Mtn Gal is right. Shows how important it is to think ahead when a parcel is up for designation.”

“Wilderness designation has kept some nice places in West Virginia out of the hands of the coal and timber barrons.
Some are still trying to weasel their way in.
We must be ever vigilant!
Send your tax-free(for me) contributions to ME and I will backpack my azz off in them mountains and keep the robbers away!
send to:
Tom Terrific
1 Long Lonesome Rd
Squalor Holler, West Virginia
EIEIO”

“If some of these treasures have "elbow room" and are not well visited isn't there usually a good reason for that? Take the Grand Staircase - Escalante NM in Utah, for instance. I read all kinds of articles when it was declared a NM back in 1996 by Bill ??? advising that tourists would inundate the place and ruin it. So what's happened to date....yes, newcomers do and did flock in at the beginning. However, one of the locals told me that things have reversed because the new city folk just can't adjust to the isolation (pop. less than 1,000), no in town hospital/medical centers, no entertainment (city folk type)...there is much real estate for sale now that being are leaving...so things can revert back to normal...and we can have our secret destinations to ourself again...”

“Pekka, the "guest quarters" have changed. But for the better. Some lodging has been closed and much boat traffic has been prohibited.”

“Yippeee!!!!!”

“How many people want to strap a pack on their backs and really see these places? Many folks won't even roll down their windows to get a good picture as they drive by. Might make them late for the KOA.”

“Making an area or trail popular is a double-edged sword. I remember my first hike. I saw it in a popular city magazine. There was a line of people going up this mountain that I couldn't believe. It almost made me think that hiking was a busy overcrowded sport.

Lookingglass & I talked about it, and thought maybe it was because of the article and tried other mountains on another weekend, and poof, all the people were gone. They were probably still hiking that one mountain, lol.”