Fat-Assed ATV Riders Damage Oregon Trail

[JoseCuervo]

From Today's Statesman, a picture is worth a thousand words....

Yeppers, it is only 10% of the ATV'rs that cause the problems, as the other 90% are all "edjumcated" about how to be responsible.

 

[feclnogn]

Kind of hard to tell by that little thumbnail ya got there. I do have one question for ya though, are trails not for riding on, and did the trails not come about by a result of four wheelers (covered wagons) using them in their trek across the United States so many years ago. I guess it is a good thing we didn't have these enviro kooks in the 1800's or we would all be stuck back east with all of them damn yankees

 

[JoseCuervo]

Fecal,

Some "trails" (with a lower case T) are for riding. One Trail (with an upper case T following the word Oregon) is generally recognized by anybody with 1/2 a brain as not being suitable for ATVs.

 

[feclnogn]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> generally recognized by anybody with 1/2 a brain as not being suitable for ATVs <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Actually the photo you posted proves this statement incorrect, as any one with half a brain can plainly see that a four wheeler has inded used the trail, therefore the trail is suitable.

 

[JoseCuervo]

No.... Anybody with a 1/2 a brain should be able to read the signs indicating the Oregon Trail.... I'll assume you are just being a smart-ass, which is ok by me, and you are not really as stupid as your comments.

Am I wrong in my assumption?

 

[feclnogn]

So if I disagree with you I am stupid. You must be a true sage and a temple of knowledge. You might want to digress from calling people stupid to reinforce your points this is especially true if you have never met an individual. Name calling is generally reserved for our childrens playgrounds. A trail is a trail, whether that trail is the Oregon Trail, The Camino Real or the path to the local brothel. Now if that trail was posted closed to ATV's who would have a point, maybe even a valid one.

 

[JoseCuervo]

Fe,

I didn't call you stupid. I called you a smart-ass, which is a compliment. I pride myself on being a smart-ass. I would hate to ever be a Dumb-ass....

Without knowing, exactly, where the picture was taken, I can only go off of a general sense that most of the areas in the article, where Public, are signed, if memory serves me.

But, in any event, even if it is not signed, and it is a pristine piece of US Heritage that is 150 years old, would you condone ATV riding on the Oregon Trail? Or would you prefer the ATV'rs go somewhere else? Once the first ATV'r heads somewhere, the place is destroyed, as the second one, and the third one, and the fourth one....etc... will soon be there.

 

[feclnogn]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Or would you prefer the ATV'rs go somewhere else? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

To be quite honest with you I would prefer not to even see the goddamned things. The only time I really like to see a four wheeler is when they are parked and the owner is out hunting. This rarely happens. Three years ago I was guiding for my father in the Gila I had my hunter set up in a meadow that had a bunch of elk traffic. There was no trail, no road no nothing, just me my hunter and some really good elk country. Well low and behold two guys come motoring up the middle of the meadow and stop in the middle of it and start pointing to the hill above us. We were set up in our camo and they did not see us. Well I sat up and let them know that they should get the lazy fat asses back on their four wheelers and get the fu@# out of the meadow. They just starred dumbly at me, got back on their bikes and went back the way they came. On the same hunt another guide working with us had a similar experience, however the guys on the bikes thought it would be funny to shoot over his head with a pistol when he confronted them. He is a retired federal agent. He tried to track them down using some of his contacts but was unable to do so. Hunting here in NM is really turning into a mess with all of the four wheelers essentially doing nothing more than road hunting. I will be elk hunting with a NM Game commisioner next week and would like to see them implement a regulation that states you can not have a loaded gun out of a case while driving a four wheeler. Dont know if it will fly but its worth a try.

Now back to the original topic........

 

[Washington Hunter]

Almost looks like Jeeps or other 4x4 passenger vehicles could have been responsible for that damage also. How do you know it was ATV's. And..if it was, how do you know they had fat asses?

 

[1_pointer]

The problem with many 'trials' is that there has not been adequate enough of an inventory in alot of areas. Thus, it's hard to dispute that the trail was not already there.

felc- I would agree/support that law. Even more so if ATVs were restricted to roads/trails open to passenger vehichles.

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 01-02-2004 07:58: Message edited by: 1_pointer ]</font>

 

[Ten Bears]

1-P, they're not passenger vehicles......... Haven't we been through that enough??????

There needs to roads / trails designated open for ATV use, areas surrounding these may or may not allow "off road" travel, but it needs designation, and other roads / trails need to be designated not open.

 

[1_pointer]

TB- I have never stated they were, but should be, IMO, be held to the same travel standards. Plus, more than one can ride on one.

 

[Ten Bears]

1-P, with exception to some newer models designed for a single passenger, most ATV's bear a manufacturers warning label of NO PASSENGERS. Why is it so hard to realize that there are different classes of vehicles. With your reasoning, it would be safe to say that all passenger vehicles should be restricted to roads traveled by commercial trucks.

FWIW, the trail in that picture seems to have received a lot more traffic then just ATV's now and wagon 150 years ago. Wasn't a portion to the trail plowed under a couple of years ago???

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 01-05-2004 12:17: Message edited by: Ten Bears ]</font>

 

[1_pointer]

The same people that ignore the no passenger labels are the one causing this debate as they can't read road closure signs or get a map to find out where they can be.

 

[cjcj]

I think they should hold an offroad race from New York to Seattle! down the Chisum trail and all thru every single national park, up thru yellowstone, and have a hill climb at "devils tower" a mud bog thru grand canyon, then follow it up with a monster truck rally!

 

[JoseCuervo]

Ten,

Back away from the Lucky Lager...

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>FWIW, the trail in that picture seems to have received a lot more traffic then just ATV's now and wagon 150 years ago. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yeah, I am guessing lot's of little old ladies in Buicks are driving thru the Sage Brush on that trail...

Just who do you think is on that trail, besides the wagons and the ATVs??? Let me guess, you still believe O.J. is going to find the guy that killed his wife....

And I agree with 1-Ptr, the ATV's should be restricted only to areas where a full size passenger vehicle (greater than 1500lbs) can travel. Look what is happening, just due to the 10% who haven't been educated, yet...

 

[cjcj]

Hell its getting boring, will someone start a fight! I tried but no takers, yea i was joking [last post] , how about i heard Moosie farted and started an Avalanche in central Idaho.

 

[Ten Bears]

EG, you been spending time in the barn with that special "bale of hay free weed"????
You're starting to make about as much sense as the old wino at the corner club.

FWIW, and what I've read in the Statesman in the past, that could be nothing more then a staged photo trying to make news out of nothing.

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 01-06-2004 09:53: Message edited by: Ten Bears ]</font>