Did
you know that there are almost 600 million acres of Public Land in
the United States?
Much of this public
land is concentrated in the western states, but public land can be
found in all 50 states. This land is managed by a variety of state
and federal agencies, and often with the cooperation and assistance
of local land owners or public use groups.
With all the recent out-cry of land closures and
inaccessible trails, The Public Lands Interpretive Association set
out to show just how much of our country is still a beautiful,
USABLE resource. Other sponsors included Bureau of Land Management,
National Geographic Society, American Honda, Coleman Company,
National Environmental Education Training Foundation, Firewise,
Utah Visitor Information Service Coalition, Salt Lake City Visitor
and Convention Bureau, and National Cattlemens Beef
Association.
The purpose of the Journey was to not only raise awareness of the
existence of the Public Land, but to also provide opportunities for
organizations and individuals to come together to discuss issues
such as Public Access and Environmental Impact. To demonstrate the
diversity available to enjoy our public lands, the modes of
transportation would include hiking by foot, 4x4, biking,
motorboat, house boat, canoe, horseback, motorcycles, and of course
ATVs.
The format was simple, and yet
logistics immense - two teams of four "trekkers" each would travel
from Mexico to Canada, entirely on public lands. The support team
would include others to help with mapping, equipment, public
relations, education outreach, cooking, medical support, and
general logistics. Team members were chosen to represent a
cross-section of America itself - Trekkers were selected from the
Blue Ridge Mountains to New York City, a teacher, a fire fighter, a
nurse. The only factor they all shared was a love for the outdoors,
and a willing spirit for adventure.
Both teams started on July 31st - the Northern
team at the Canadian Border in Glacier National Park, and the
Southern Team at the Mexican border on BLM lands in southern New
Mexico. Each team would travel for 60 days to meet in Pine Valley
Campground in Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Utah. This meeting
date coincided with National Public Lands Day, and was addressed by
National Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton.
I strongly encourage you to CLICK HERE to
check out the official web site for the event - More than 70
sponsoring public and private organizations helped make this
Journey possible, you'll find bios on the team members, excerpts
from their daily journals, and full details about the itinerary and
route. It was an incredible journey.
Many in the industry had been talking about this
event for months, and certainly following along with the teams'
daily progress reports, uplinked via satellite to a web site. Aware
of the importance of this Journey, we were immediately intrigued
when we received a call from American Honda, the Official Corporate
Sponsor of the event (along with Coleman) to join them in riding
ATVs from Richfield to Provo Utah and meet the southern
team.
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A bridge across a delicate
area |
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Camp for the night! |
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We joined up with the team of Southern Trekkers at
the Rocky Mountain ATV Jamboree just in time for a round table
discussion about public lands. I had not met any of the trekkers at
this point and was very pleased with the discussions that took
place. We applaud Honda for supporting this adventure! Much
of the talk was about educating the public about our public land
and how to use it responsibly. The trekkers had already been on
ATV's for day had a chance to see what riding ATV's on public lands
was like. It was apparent that many of the team had gained insight
as to why so many people enjoy experiencing our public lands via
ATV. With representatives from the Forest Service, BLM, community
figures, NOHVCC (National Off Highway Vehicle Conservation
Council), AMA (American Motorcyclists Association) , and many
others in attendance the discussions were very good and will be a
great step in educating the public. Being right in the middle of
the Paitue ATV trail system we were able to see how much could be
done when all organizations come together and work together towards
a common goal.
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Jan and Varion planning the
days route! |
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Early morning frost on the
Honda Rincon's |
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The next three days were spent on the trail,
aboard new 2003 Honda Rincon's, in the Dixie National Forest and
Manti - La Salle National Forest. Along with the trekkers we were
able to see some of the most awesome land and scenery that makes up
our national forest. It is a shame that more people do not get out
and see what is available to us on public land. We covered from
50-70 miles each day. A couple times each day we came to points
where the trail crossed through private land, at each of those
points the trekkers dismounted the Honda Rincon's and hiked around
the private land to where the trail continued on public
land.
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Honda Rincon in
action! |
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Jan, Richard, Kay, and Julie
ready for a hike around a section of private land. |
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I spend alot of time riding ATV's but but this
will be 4 days that I will recall for a long time. I had a chance
to meet some great people, enjoy and see more of our public land,
and at the same time had a great ride through Utah on the new Honda
Rincon ATV. I think this quote from Kay Gandy's journal says it
all.
Before this Trek, I didn’t even
like ATVs. I had seen riders abusing the land, and I have known of
several people who were injured on ATVs. Now I tell everyone that
riding the ATV was my favorite part of the
Trek.
Enjoy the trail, ride within your limits, and wear
your helmet!
Talk about the Journey on our
BBS!
Complete Photo
Galley HERE
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