Dear HCN,
“Fiddling while Rome
burns’ should have been the subtitle of Christopher Smith’s stories
concerning guidebooks and wilderness usage (HCN, 9/4/95). It’s sad
to see wilderness advocates decrying people visiting the Colorado
Plateau while the Utah congressional delegation legislates Utah
wilderness out of existence.
Hiking in the Swell
with Steve Allen persuaded me to become an activist for Utah
wilderness. Why sneer at those who visit, guidebook in hand, and
return home convinced of the necessity of preserving these lands?
These are public lands, at least for now, and the public has a
right to know about them. It isn’t “massive groups of uncreative
herd animals’ but the people Utah has sent to Congress who will
harm Chimney Canyon and its like.
Jim Stiles’
version of wilderness ubermensch pursuing adventure unhampered by
guidebooks is just more Western myth. If Stiles wants to protect
wild places, he should donate his considerable gifts to Planned
Parenthood instead of preaching perfection to an imperfect world.
As to the “herd animals’ crack, Stiles might recall the hateful
final commandment in Animal Farm: “All animals are equal but some
animals are more equal than others.”
William
Corcoran
Culver City,
California
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Hikers aren’t a herd.
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