RRC Archives

AAAHH. MR. Weber,the voice of reason. Thank you sir. 8)

To cut or not to cut, that is the question...

In this virgin territory of Muir Valley, we've been faced with this question many times. Of course there is no clear answer. Some potentially nice climbs have been passed up rather than cut a tree down. Some trees have been cut that were no great loss to open a route or make it safer. In the end, it is a judgement call. We've been told by some that too many trees have been cut and by others that not enough have been removed.

As many of you know, long sections of cliff line and two hollows in Muir have been declared off limits to climbing because of the impact that climbers would do to the wildflowers, ferns, mosses, trees, etc. there. Again it is a judgement call. And not just on private land. Yosemite and other public areas are faced with the same situations -- trying to allow climbing and at the same time preserve places of natural beauty.

It made me sick to destroy the trees we did to build the road through the Valley floor. I felt like Bush the ecobarbarian after seeing those six big bulldozed trees along the new road. But, persons in the know strongly advised that this was a necessary compromise that will, in the years to come, actually minimize the adverse impact on the land. The road allows us to now go in with equipment to erase the old eroding logging roads and install water bars. And, most importantly, this road provides a quick route for emergency equipment to reach all parts of the Valley. Two weeks ago, a woman with a broken leg was quickly and easily taken out. Last weekend, a woman with an injured ankle was driven out. Without the road, it would have been a long haul to carry injured people up that 300-foot elevation gain.

Rick

We were trying to park our car at Muir Sunday and there was this pesky house being built on an overlook. We burned it down to make room, but we didn't cut down any trees.

Perhaps we could use this thread to generate interest in a Roadside trail day. Wouldn't it be appropriate to contact Grant Stevens and let him know that people are concerned about the tree? Then we could offer to organize a trail day to shore up the Roadside trail. That's my suggestion.

Hugh may be old and crusty but he has a point. Without a super active landowner like the Weber's or RRGCC, it's up to us to protect our own area. I don't think all climbers are lazy parasites though. But it does take someone to step up and make the initial effort. Then people show up. Whatcha think?

Spragwa wrote:Perhaps we could use this thread to generate interest in a Roadside trail day. Wouldn't it be appropriate to contact Grant Stevens and let him know that people are concerned about the tree? Then we could offer to organize a trail day to shore up the Roadside trail. That's my suggestion.

Hugh may be old and crusty but he has a point. Without a super active landowner like the Weber's or RRGCC, it's up to us to protect our own area. I don't think all climbers are lazy parasites though. But it does take someone to step up and make the initial effort. Then people show up. Whatcha think?

Karla has already done that and it is being discussed right now.

Mr. Weber I am a gumby re: eco balance but it sounds to me like you are damn close to achieving it.
A wiser man than me once said "if you re having moral dilemmas on a daily basis you are more spiritually sound than you might think"

Yes, we are trying to organize a trail improvement day for Roadside. Details are in the works. Rick is contacting Grant Stephens. We are thinking around the beginning of November. We will only need about 10-15 people.

We'll keep everyone posted.

Good quote Christian. I reread that and now I actually feel better about myself.