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Sunday, August 28, 2016

PACK IT OUT EVEN IF NOT YOURS

PICKING UP AFTER OTHERS IS JUST A NECESSARY EVIL


Some people have no manners and just do not get it.


By Del Albright


Keeping our backcountry open sometimes means getting our hands dirty -- even with other people's trash. It's ugly; it seems unnecessary; and it certainly isn't fair.  But as good stewards of our public lands, sometimes we just need to stop and clean up someone else's mess.

I think there must be a place where some inconsiderate people are born in a barn and raised by monkeys without manners or consideration of our great country. Thank goodness for clubs like the Mile-Hi Jeep Club and their famous event All-4-Fun in Colorado every year where good stewards like Matt Hiller and Cory Moul lead land use clean up runs every day of the event. (snown in pic above).


Every off-pavement recreation group advocates taking care of our public lands and waterways; and packing out your trash (and sometimes even your human waste).  Unfortunately the idiot behavior of some of our fellow humans does not get this message and we must clean up after them like the children they are.  More often than not, I am cleaning up after people who are not even motorized recreationists; they are just tourists or visitors with sloppy life habits.




Please do your part.  Pack it out.  
thanks, Del


Thursday, August 25, 2016

THERE'S NO ROOM FOR (OFF-ROAD) COWBOYS ANYMORE

The Days of Running Free and Riding Off Into the Sunset Are Only For the Movies!

But Freedoms Still Exist and We Need to Keep Them.


By Del Albright


This story is about off-pavement motorized recreation and how the "cowboy" claim to fame of riding free is just not real anymore.  Not for us as people who put a motor rather than an horse under us.

Now please don't get me wrong, there is a ton of "freedom" built into what we do; but in today's world we cannot behave like riding and roping cowboys on public land and expect to have a "horse" under us much longer.  By that I simply mean we must follow the rules, obey the laws, be good stewards, and set the example for the younger folks behind us.

I also pray (literally) that we will always have real cowboys on ranches, doing real horse riding, roping and cattle driving.  I also fight for and work hard to help make sure cattle grazing on public lands continues to be a viable lifestyle.  But here I speak of motorized recreation and how the "cowboy" in us must be corralled.



While it would be hard for me to argue the point that we might have too much big government in some circumstances, there are just some rules we need to follow when you are on the throttle or gas pedal.  And if we follow them, and be part of developing them by getting involved, then we can keep our motors running and our "horses" fed.

It still boils down to all of us doing our part; joining organizations that make sense to us; being good stewards of the lands (and waters) we enjoy; obeying the rules; and setting the example for others who also want to enjoy our great backcountry by motor.

NOTE: for a good example of a recreation code of ethics, see what BlueRibbon Coalition/Sharetrails has to offer: http://archive.sharetrails.org/node/14768

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Friday, August 5, 2016

HELPING HANDS BUILDING BRIDGES IN VOLUNTEERISM


The Spirit of Cooperation Through Helping Hands

Is the Solution to Successful Volunteerism and a Better Future for All


By Del Albright

Volunteer efforts from churches to charities to clubs and organizations must engage the concept of "helping hands" in order to build better bridges to a successful future. That was the theme of a recent talk I gave at an off-road/four-wheeling event in Empire, CO (August 1, 2016) called All-4-Fun conducted by the Mile-Hi Jeep Club of Denver, CO.

Too many volunteer efforts fall apart because of egos, personalities, bickering or even jealousy.  Turf battles take over meetings and conversations.  People drop out right and left and find something else to do -- or another club/place to do whatever it is you were doing. It has to stop if the effort is to survive at all.


The best solution is to encourage everyone involved to use their "helping hands" to save the cause; keep the sport alive; or the charity strong; or the trails open, by working together to build a bridge that will get everyone to a better future.

To build a "bridge" each person uses the strengths they have to "lift" and install the part they are assigned, then turn and help the person next to them do the same.  With everyone using their "helping hands" the bridge is quickly built in a team effort that helps everyone achieve a better future.

I would hope that everyone would share the spirit of cooperation and helping hands to amplify the effect of all of us in one cause, working towards a common goal, whatever that may be....for sure, in my off-pavement motorized recreation world, that would be more trails saved and open, and a stronger future for all of us with a bridge that cannot be torn down!

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