I don't get the guy. Granted, his actions do not affect me and he is free to live his life as he wants, but he had no right to question another person about being on the property. What if a person had asked him for the papers to show he could be running on the trail bed? (Okay, it might be open to the public, but you get the idea).
I found it interesting that when the guy produced the papers Pope was still not convinced. I suspect that nothing would have convinced him. I also find it fascinating that he wasted 30 minutes of his life on this matter...but then what life does he have?
The telling line to me is that Pope seems to be on the lookout for confrontation. To me that means that he is going to find trouble one day.
I also suspect the first story to be false or exaggerated. There were no witnesses to the event.
If he wants to stop hunting on the land around the trail bed then I suggest he get up some buyers or earn some money and BUY the land from the current owners. He would then be well within his rights to stop hunting on the land. However, I suspect he is the type that will sue instead.
Seems to me like he wants to impose his views on others while not having them imposed on him.
I find his whining about golfers making too much money to be a sign of his mind. Golfers earn that money. The sport is popular and draws a great deal of sponsorship money and large crowds and TV ratings (well at least when Tiger is playing). There are people out there that think that a person earning $10K from running is too much. If he wants more money in running, then he should work to make the sport more popular to more people.
I concur with another poster who mentions that hunters are freaked out about accidently shooting someone. It really is pretty rare which is why it gets so played up when it does happen
In my hometown (where I grew up not where I live now) there is a private college with miles and miles of wonderful trails. The college is kind enough to let the public on the land, but every so often it closes access to the trails for controlled hunts. Makes sense, the deer population gets too great and needs to be culled. While I miss those runs when I am back there, I understand the needs of all.