thru-hiker wrote:
Here's a letter that Baxter State Park sent to the Appalachian Trail Conference last year about the problems they're having with "modern AT hikers", where they're experiencing the effects of a generation of people who don't like to follow rules.
http://www.baxterstateparkauthority.com/pdf/meetingAuthority/Dec162014/AT%20Ron%20Tipton%20Wendy%20Janssen%20letter%2011%2019%202014%20scanned.pdfClosing Katahdin because of the self-indulgence of one runner who is very good at cultivating a social media campaign is a sad thing for the thousands of hikers who choose not to have a Sprinter van follow them at every road crossing.
Good link. The letter is a well-written bitch-fest. It's a litany of complaints about the growing number of thru-hikers and their behavior as they enter the park, and how much they cost. If BSP closes the AT in its boundaries, it won't actually be because of Jurek, but with his images of spraying champagne plastered over the Internet, he's become Baxter's poster boy for the problem.