[MtnGoat]

[Tom]

[Allison]

There are at least three places I wouldn't have thought to visit if it weren't for trips posted on this website. Anyone else get ideas about places they wouldn't have thought to go if not for TRs to them? There have been discussions raging for decades on this subject. People, please be careful. When you do a TR, it is being broadcast to hundreds of people.

[Larry]

Well, in all honesty, I've bookmarked six places that had Trip Reports from this forum. Four of them were unfamiliar to me, and the other two had been "looked at" on the maps. So even though I try to be very careful at any fragile alpine place, I'll be adding to the impact when I go. So...I guess the Trip Reports planted the seed in me for visiting, and therefore DID increase the impact. It's a tough call as to where to draw the line on Trip Reports, for sure. Guess it still boils down to individual decisions on how much information to give out. Marylou brings out good points in stating that ANY fragile area should be carefully considered. Tom brings out good points in stating that for the most part, a hard-to-reach area is not going to get a huge amount of additional impact. I myself have gotten a bit carried away with my own propensity to get "excited" about a place or a trip, and have posted reports that I now regret posting. Even at my advanced age, I'm still learning...I think. So...I think Marylou's point is well-taken...to be very careful.

[catwoman]

Oh geez, here we go again with people wanting to keep their finds a secret and private. I see nothing wrong with TR's and people paying a visit to those places as a result. It's common sense and respect to be as careful as we can to any of our wilderness locations. I have a real hard time with people who can't share and feel they need to keep everything to themselves. What good is the beauty and awe of our natural world if you can't share it?!

[#19]

[Sore Feet]

I understand the reasoning behind this mindset, there is definitely validity to it, but I think it's being way overblown because: 1 - The majority of web browsers, and I mean VAST majority, will stop looking for something if they can't find it within 30 seconds. Trip reports included. 2 - The people who frequent this forum are obviously a lot more responsible...er, responCible and knowledgeable than your average Snow Lake - Denny Creek - Rattlesnake Ledge sunday leisure walker, and would be the most likely demographic to visit the location(s) in question. 3 - This site may allow posting of pictures, but if we're gonna worry about trip reports creating a bigger human impact on an area, I'd be a LOT more worried about WTA than anything else.

[reststep]

Mtn Goat wrote

[reststep]

I can remember Pack and Paddle Magazine taking criticism because of some detailed trip information by some writers in their trip reports. I think because of it one of them quit writing reports for several years.

[Larry]

[polarbear]

Could a place like the Enchantments ever have been kept secret? Maybe its popularit could have been delayed by a decade or two but it seems like popularity was inevitable for such a place. What do you think?

[reststep]

Who wouldn't want to go to the Enchantments after seeing Stark's pictures?

[Larry]

[Slugman]

If you take the line of reasoning that trip reports cause "impact", then the "100 Hikes..." series is the work of Satan. Perhaps all hikers should abandon their hobby to protect these places for...nobody, apparently. If every person on this board went to all the same places, it still would have little impact due to our relatively small numbers. We have less than 500 members. Would the Enchantments be "saved" by 500 less people per year? Responsible use by knowledgable enthusiasts is not the problem. Masses of occasional hikers swarming over a place with no inkling of habitat protection is far more damaging. However, the more people who hike, the more voters for preserving these places there are. Clearcutting has destroyed 1,000 places for every one hiked to death.

[Newt]

Once we step off of the concrete and asphalt things become sensitive. Some more than others. Most, but not all folks respect this and abide by natures unwritten rules to treat it with the utmost respect. Some folks don't think, don't care and flat out think that it is all there at their disposal. My first trip to Alaska and the Tundra brought about an acute awareness of how fragile nature can be. I was informed, politely, to watch my step. plant life struggled very hard just to stay alive. Any damage could be irrepairable even given ideal conditions and long periods of time. I have ever since been aware of my every step whether it would crush a plant or wear a tread even further. My first glacier experience was the Mandenhall. I felt guilty knowing that every step I took with crampons chisels away ice. Small, yes, but still chiseling away for the sun to melt and slowly erode away this fantastic beauty. I have wanted to do more but can't quite bring myself to help destroy something that has taken eons to come into existence. As time goes on, the population grows. Outdoor recreation is the thing to do. More and more people well help in some sort of destruction of mother nature. It is not an endless supply. A few years back there was concern of the eroding away of climbing rocks by climbers. It's just rock, so what the heck. It can and will never grow back. This earth is ours to enjoy and also to protect. Leave No Trace? But our very being there has left some sort of trace. Some sort of wear and tear. I see and understand the concern for less detailed instructions to some fragile and less fragile places. Soon there will be bridges, walls, and asphalt to help keep the situation under control. We can fix some things, but they will never be the same. If it weren't for the influence of Beckey, Manning, Spring, BackPacker Mag or even folks like Stark, the wilds wouldn't be under such attack. We all add to the impact. We should all be responsible in how we use it and how we talk about it. I believe in poster discretion and really don't feel that we need TR police. NN