Topic: PATHWAY WORK (Read 23107 times)

Mourneman · « **Reply #30 on:** March 14, 2012 »

Quote from: Ed on March 14, 2012

I'm all for avoiding erosion, but I draw the line and putting erosion prevention above avoiding a ripped up knee or ankle.

My trekking pole has saved me from many a nasty twist or fall

Maybe that's selfish of me, but there it is.

well spoken Ed,walking poles seriously :-Xnever mind the off-roaders,quads,bikers,poles play very little in the scale of things!

Dowser · « **Reply #31 on:** March 14, 2012 »

Quote from: Ed on March 14, 2012

I'm all for avoiding erosion, but I draw the line and putting erosion prevention above avoiding a ripped up knee or ankle.

My trekking pole has saved me from many a nasty twist or fall

Maybe that's selfish of me, but there it is.

Here here

Dowser · « **Reply #32 on:** March 14, 2012 »

I'm gonna get myself one of these from Leki

mregan · « **Reply #33 on:** March 14, 2012 »

As I have said above I am not saying dont use them just be careful in how you use them. In the same way a mountain biker can be careful about how he rides a mountain. Pulling the brakes and sliding like a 12 year old is obviously going to wreck the ground. Ride the same bit and apply the brakes a bit more easy and it isnt going to cause the same damage.

Quote

poles play very little in the scale of things!

Its not me its him

I dont see any quads or motorbikes on the steeper mountains yet there is plenty of erosion. If you keep denying your part in the bigger picture then you cant very well have a go at those making improvements, trying to prevent further erosion or conservation.

As I have already said we can all do our bit!

The only reason I bring up walking poles is those that use them either genuinely dont realise how much damage they do cause or are ignorant to the damage they cause. I find it laughable that some then can judge others as to what should or shouldnt be done on a mountain.

mregan · « **Reply #34 on:** March 14, 2012 »

Quote from: Dowser on March 14, 2012

I'm gonna get myself one of these from Leki

It would do less damage

Oisín · « **Reply #35 on:** March 14, 2012 »

I've been listening and not talking on this topic because I personally don't have much experience with walking poles or experience in witnessing erosion. But I think I should say that I know for a fact no matter what you do it has an impact on something, and this cant be changed. Newtons law of motion - Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

For an example every wave no matter how small, hitting a mighty cliff, it will still have an effect. This erosion may not be noticeable until a thousand years later a big chunk of the cliff breaks off into the sea. Dunluce castle knows this well.

So are we not eroding the mountains no matter what way we use them? Be it with a bicycle or metal stick or even a shoe. I like to think that if I can change the way I go about doing something even if it is small it will be a small help, and small things add up. So even if that was a small thing like using a wooden walking stick instead of a metal one so it didn't put scars on the face of rocks, would that not help? Or be it a small thing like not leaving litter behind. A small thing like not throwing glass bottles into a campfire. A small thing. Just a small thing helps.

mregan · « **Reply #36 on:** March 14, 2012 »

Quote

So are we not eroding the mountains no matter what way we use them? Be it with a bicycle or metal stick or even a shoe. I like to think that if I can change the way I go about doing something even if it is small it will be a small help, and small things add up. So even if that was a small thing like using a wooden walking stick instead of a metal one so it didn't put scars on the face of rocks, would that not help? Or be it a small thing like not leaving litter behind. A small thing like not throwing glass bottles into a campfire. A small thing. Just a small thing helps.

Exactly!

Ed · « **Reply #37 on:** March 14, 2012 »

Quote from: Oisin on March 14, 2012

So are we not eroding the mountains no matter what way we use them? Be it with a bicycle or metal stick or even a shoe. I like to think that if I can change the way I go about doing something even if it is small it will be a small help, and small things add up. So even if that was a small thing like using a wooden walking stick instead of a metal one so it didn't put scars on the face of rocks, would that not help? Or be it a small thing like not leaving litter behind. A small thing like not throwing glass bottles into a campfire. A small thing. Just a small thing helps.

Agreed, in part anyway. I see it as a balance of harms type issue, I'll gladly do anything I can to help the mountain environment, to an extent. When the choice is between the miniscule erosion imparted on a rock by my trekking pole - and risking knee or ankle injury however, I can live with the erosion.

I wouldn't ask a mountain biker to not bother breaking to spare the soil - and in so doing crash into a tree, I see trekking pole use in a similar light.

I use a plastic basket on the end of my pole for the rocky areas, it helps somewhat, at least I hear less scratching.

http://www.tiso.com/shop/trekmates/rubber_tip_ferrule/

When we talk about erosion by trekking poles it is important to remember that it is small. Yes small adds up, but we're not talking about the Appalachian Trail here.

When we get down into minutiae like trekking poles scratching rocks, we beg the question why not just leave the boots and bikes at home altogether, that would after all help with the erosion problem. Of course that's a silly suggestion, but it demonstrates the cost / benefit weighing which needs to be done for any suggestion.

I never get too worries about erosion, my pole might have scratched the odd rock on a given day, but I've also cleared the aftermath from some prick's picnic. Net effect was positive

Ed

Oisín · « **Reply #38 on:** March 14, 2012 »

Is there no other way of working it so you don't risk injury? As in taking more caution or by using ankle support straps? Or is the trekking pole the only option?

The funny thing is that the places where these are banned are the places that you are most likely to need them. Example on the long distance treks and very mountainous areas compared with the mournes which could be seen as hills in comparison to other mountains.

I still think they aren't an essential bit of kit, the only reason for this is the fact that there has been many before us that has managed and succeeded without them. I don't see why we need them all of a sudden.

Al Fresco · « **Reply #39 on:** March 14, 2012 »

zimmer by stoked_ni, on Flickr

What about an inflatable zimmer frame, kind to the pathways, lightweight and easy to pack away when not in use lol.

Al Fresco · « **Reply #40 on:** March 14, 2012 »

Seriously though folks, as I posted previously, the Mournes are 54 million years old, have survived extreme climate change and an ice-age . They have endured thousands of men tramping over them with thousands of tonnes of rock for the mourne wall and the dams, over 1 million tonnes of material for the dams as well quarrying and shelling from the US Navy, tens of thousands of hikers over the last hundred years walking and camping on them, and sheep and other forms of farming.
They still exist and flourish with bogland and heath, so in the bigger picture of things do you really think that your mountain bike or walking pole or boots are going to lead to an environmental catastrophe or some kind of permanent damage that wont grow back?
In my opinion everywhere is in a constant state of change and evolution and is influenced by many factors, man, animal, weather, time and the topography and materials an environment consists of. The rain and wind and sun will have a far greater influence on the degradation of the plants and soil erosion than hillwalkers ever will in the mournes. Should we build a canopy over the hills to protect them from that too?

Mourneman · « **Reply #41 on:** March 14, 2012 »

Very good Al fresco,must say i agreed,if you want to follow a path go to Botanic gardens,lets try keep the Mourne's wild

Al Fresco · « **Reply #42 on:** March 14, 2012 »

http://www.mournelive.com/mourneheritagetrust/tenders/index.asp

The tender and details for the next phase of path repair is only £204,000 excl VAT seriously, though i think/hope that the construction/ repair from 1000m to 400mm wide is a typo.

Make of it what you will....
p.s. how does taking rock from mountain quarries and moving it up a mountain class as environmental protection?

Oisín · « **Reply #43 on:** March 14, 2012 »

Reading that long paragraph it sort of came across as a dont care attitude.

Yes the ice age has made them the way they are but I don't think the shelling target practise can be put into the same category. I dont know why they were ever allowed to do so in the first place.

Al Fresco · « **Reply #44 on:** March 14, 2012 »

Quote from: Oisin on March 14, 2012

For an example every wave no matter how small, hitting a mighty cliff, it will still have an effect. This erosion may not be noticeable until a thousand years later a big chunk of the cliff breaks off into the sea. Dunluce castle knows this well.

So are we not eroding the mountains no matter what way we use them? Be it with a bicycle or metal stick or even a shoe.

What you are saying here is basically the same thing i am saying, and yes small things in your approach and usage of the habitat will minimise the effect you have in the short term. But buliding granite paths that are not a natural part of the environment that will remain for thousands of years with diggers which cause massive damage, with rock quarried from the mountains, and they make the natural environment ugly as they are an eyesore is not exactly the best way to preserve the natural habitat is it.
The point is I care a lot, but because I don't agree with your point of view, you think I don't care?

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Author Topic: PATHWAY WORK (Read 23107 times)

Mourneman

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Dowser

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Dowser

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mregan

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mregan

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Oisín

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mregan

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Ed

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Oisín

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Al Fresco

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Al Fresco

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Mourneman

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Al Fresco

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Oisín

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Al Fresco

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