There you go again, raising the non-issue of cell
phones in the backcountry (-Heard around the West,” 10/25/99). As a
frequent backcountry traveler, I simply haven’t encountered the
problem. In any event, it seems the phones could easily be avoided
by those who are offended. Perhaps you should report instead on the
increasingly unavoidable backcountry intrusion of domestic dogs. If
only dogs could be switched off like cell phones! If only they
spent 99 percent of the time quietly stashed, like cell phones, in
their owners’ pockets or packs! But no, they are constantly
barking, harassing wildlife, begging, crapping, poking their noses
in the crotches of passing hikers, menacingly asserting ownership
of the trails, even pissing on my kayaking gear at river access
areas.
Those silly, nasty, neurotic pests should
be left at home.
Douglas
Woody
Afton,
Wyoming
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline What about dogs?.
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