Note: This message was sent to the Appalachian Trail Conference on Sept. 29, 1999. The ATC's response, from Bob Proudman, is posted below.
By Chris Wolfe
Sept. 29, 1999
To: Mark Simpson, Bob Proudman, JT Horn, Rick Ste. Clair, Steve Swatling
From: Chris Wolfe
Re: Antlers “feeds” & other “Trail Magic” issues
I have spoken with all of you at various times regarding the annual “feed-a-thon” at the Antlers campsite on Jo Mary Lake in the last 100 miles of the A.T., put on by “Cat & Alex”, past thru-hikers. They stay at the site for at least 10 days anywhere from late August to late September. They provide food and drink during the entire time, creating a party atmosphere. The site is left clean, since I left a note in the site register, asking them not to leave anything and why. Last year was their 10th year.
MATC member, Dave De Luca just hiked all of Maine, and came across another “Trail Magic” event. Bill Irwin paddled into the site with his wife and a friend from September 11-18. They provided spaghetti every day starting about 10 am. They posted a sign on the tree at the entrance to the site with a picture of Bill & Orient advertising the event. They canoed out every few days to get more food. They had a fire going in the fire pit the entire time and they had a two burner propane stove. Dave also reported a “feeding event” in the gravel pit located just off the Flagstaff road on the North side of Little Bigelow in the Bigelow Preserve. The news of this event was spread via entries in the Lean-to registers way back to Spaulding Mountain LT and happened around September 10. Do not know exactly how long or who. Dave stayed at Bill Ware’s WHITE HOUSE LANDING WILDERNESS CAMP on Pemadumcook Lake. The signs advertising the camp and different kinds of foods they have are still on the A.T. at the new lumber road crossing that provides access to the camp. In a conversation with Bill Ware, Ware noted that he had a conversation with Mark Simpson and that the sign situation would be resolved next year. Thus, Ware left his signs up this year. Dave also noted that he saw business cards posted in all the LT’s advertising overnight and eating establishments. We also have the situation on Andover Hill Road with the signs advertising the establishments in Andover, which has become quite cut-throat. I want to express my extreme concern regarding this “Trail Magic” stuff and commercial signs. If we do not address these events and the proliferation of advertisements in the Trail corridor now, it is only going to get worse and be more difficult for us to manage new ones as they arise. In the ATC Comprehensive Plan, p. 7, point 7 = “Incompatible activities will be controlled by educational efforts and, failing this, by enforcement of laws and Trail regulations.” b) “...discourage activities that would degrade the Trail’s natural and cultural resources or social values, such as use of groups or organizations involved in promotion, .....” I ask for direction and action. How can we deal with this? Should we contact ALDHA and Wingfoot? Thanks for your ideas and suggestions. —— Chris Wolfe . . . . . . . . . .
Oct. 1, 1999 . . . . . . . . . .
Dear Chris:With respect to your concerns with people putting feed-a-thons on the A.T., and with advertising hostels in the A.T.’s leantos, I am sharing your email more broadly, especially because next weekend, ALDHA is meeting in Hanover NH. Maybe they would begin the dialogue there. So, by copy to TLC and PIE chairs Fitzgerald and Lawthers, as well as Al Sochard, Laurie Potteiger, Brian King, Chief Ranger Bob Gray, Don Owen and Amy Owen, I am expanding the dialogue regarding these activities. This is a tough issue in which the valuable social aspects of the Trail have to be balanced with the land ethics of the Trail. While I like spaghetti as much as anyone, I share your perception that the balance may be tilting too far toward the former. Thanks for your perceptions and your sound backwoods ethics. —— Bob Proudman, ATC . . . . . . . . . .
