Review: Singletrack MINDS

Singletrack MINDS is a short "documentary" covering the decades long trail access conflict between hikers and cyclists in Marin County, California. Produced by Poison Oaks Productions , the 30 minute piece includes interviews with local cycling figures such as Gary Fisher as well as trail advocates on both sides of the hiker/biker debate.

Marin County is known as ground zero for mountain biker and hiker trail conflicts. It sits adjacent to one of the continents largest metropolitan areas and includes a very large area of protected wilderness land. Look north from the Golden Gate bridge and you are looking at Marin County. That beautiful green mountain looming over the bridge is what everyone is fighting over. Marin is where mountain biking as we know it was started three decades ago. And it is also where groups like The Sierra Club first worked to protect public lands from developers.

That's Marin County in the background.

Singletrack MINDS uses interview clips as well as shots of local Marin trails to present a brief history of how and why things got to where they are today (which continues as something of a stand-off between two user groups). Many of the interviewees, such as Gary Fisher, offer candid commentary as to what went wrong in the early days of mountain biking to turn off the local trail advocates.

The documentary doesn't directly take sides. But there is a message. Mountain bikers made a lot of mistakes in the early days of mountain biking, which included an in-your-face attitude that turned-off land managers and reinforced negative stereotypes of cyclists that were being propagated by the hiking community. On the other side of the conflict there is an unwillingness to share public lands and a feeling that "hikers built these trails."

That unwillingness on the part of the anti-cycling crowd to "share the trail" comes up again and again in Singletrack MINDS. What may be insightful for multi-use advocates is the fact that the elitist arguments of hiking groups do not necessarily play well with all land managers and public officials. Hikers often present themselves as the "moral" and "righteous" side of the conflict. Cyclists might be able to overcome that argument by knocking down the stereotype of the Mt Dew drinking adrenaline junky and showing public officials and the public in general that cycling is a healthy, environmentally conscious activity .

The standoff in Marin County continues to echo across the United States. Singletrack MINDS is a great documentary that offers a starting point for education and conversation on the subject of trail access. Poison Oak Productions offers DVD copies of Singletrack MINDS through their web site. In exchange for a $5 donation, they'll snail mail you a copy promptly. I got mine in about one week.

"Spread the Good News!"

Velo Tracts is an in your face answer to people who want exclusive and special rights to public trails. Located somewhere in the Great Lakes region, the mysterious creators of Velo Tracts have borrowed a familiar tactic from evangelicals. Their tactic is described on their web site:

A tract is a leaflet or pamphlet containing a declaration or appeal, especially one put out by a religious or political group. An individual tract's message can be conveyed in words, pictures or both.

Perhaps the most world-renowned tracts are the awkward pen and ink stylings
of the unintentionally zany fundamentalist Christian crusader, Jack Chick. Chick
began drawing miniature comic book tracts over 30 years ago to evangelize and proselytize his faith. Over 500 million of these little books have been passed out on street corners from Amsterdam to Zambezi in almost 100 different languages. Whether you agree with Chick's message or not, his tracts captivate you with their blunt delivery and often surreal dialogue and illustrations. Described as lacking nuance and charity, they often leave both their 'believer' and 'non-believer' readers with an unintentionally creepy feeling.

Feeling unbreakable? Jack Chick will take care of that feeling. If you’ve got a strong stomach and non-malleable mind, check out his stuff at www.chick.com.

In addition to "preaching" an anti-elitist message of multi-use trail advocacy, Velo Tracts also utilizes some hip artwork in their pamphlets and their web site.

Don't be surprised to run into a Velo Tract evagelist one day out on the North Country Trail. Advocates have been known to pass them out to backcountry travelers, especially those who react in a confrontational manner to people who wish to do nothing more than ride their bike.

Mythbusters

If you've ever been to the Finger Lakes region of New York you can appreciate just how many opportunities exist for all types of backcountry experiences. From kayaking and canoeing to mountain biking, hiking and camping, Finger Lakes is a backcountry jewel. It also contains the Eastern end of the NCT.

It's good to know that the region has multi use trail advocates in the Western New York Mountain Bicycling Association. WNYMBA works to protect trail access for mountain bikers in the area. Their web site has plenty of great information on local trails and access issues, as well as an extensive set of bulletin board forums. The site also offers this little list of NCT myths along with the truth that busts them.

NCT Myths

The North Country Trail designed for hiking, not biking Trails designed for hiking and biking are essentially identical.

Both use the same design standards set forth by groups like the Forest Service, AMC, and IMBA. The only significant differences are (1) mountain bike trail designs need to consider transitions between open-and-flowing and tight-and-technical sections; and (2) switchbacks are often problematic for hiking trails because foot traffic cuts the corners.Mountain bikers want access to the entire North Country Trail.No. Groups like WNYMBA are not asking for sections of the NCT on private land in New York to be opened to bicycles. If Individual landowners allow access to bicycles, however, this would be welcome.

Congress modelled the North Country Trail after the Appalachian Trail, which is hiking-only.

Among all trails created by the National Trails System Act, only the Appalachian Trail is restricted to be "administered primarily as a footpath." Other National Scenic Trails are open to more than foot travel, including the Pacific Crest Trail equestrians) and Contintental Divide Trail (mountain biking, equestrians.) The Act states that "National scenic trails... will be extended trails so located as to provide for maximum outdoor recreation potential and for the conservation and enjoyment of the nationally significant scenic, historic, natural, or cultural qualities of the areas through which such trails may pass."

Congress never envisioned mountain biking on trails when passing the National Trails System Act in 1980.

They may not have and we'll likely never know. However, the current Act states that "potential trail uses allowed on designated components of the national trails system may include, but are not limited to, the following: bicycling, cross-country skiing, day hiking, equestrian activities, jogging or similar fitness activities, trail biking, overnight and long-distance backpacking, snowmobiling, and surface water and underwater activities."

The NCT was built by hikers so it should only be open to hikers.

Mountain bikers and equestrians have contributed to building and maintaining the NCT. Because of the maintenance efforts of WNYMBA, the NCT section south of Ellicottville is one of the best maintained sections in in Cattaraugus County. In Michigan the Harbor Springs NCTA chapter was formed primarily by mountain bikers.

I especially like the last myth. Because it gets to the heart of what a small number of people out there want to do, rewrite history. Many sections of trail that today make up the NCT were opened and continue to be maintained by people who never intended that their efforts would only be enjoyed by one small set of users.

Where to begin?

From the horses mouth:

WHAT IS THE NORTH COUNTRY NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL?
In March 1980 Federal legislation authorized the establishment of the North Country National Scenic Trail (NST) as a component of the National Trails System. It is one of only eight trails authorized by Congress to be National Scenic Trails. National Scenic Trails are long distance, non-motorized trails.

In many ways, the trail is similar in concept to the more widely known Appalachian Trail--both are NST's. In other ways, it is uniquely different as it crosses a more diverse geographic area. The North Country NST will extend from the vicinity of Crown Point, New York, to Lake Sakakawea State Park, on the Missouri River, in North Dakota, where it joins the route of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.As work on the trail has progressed, it appears that the final length will approach 4,200 miles, instead of the originally estimated 3,200 miles.

HOW LONG IS THE NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL?
The best current estimate is that the North Country National Scenic Trail will be between 4,200 and 4,500 miles long when completed.

WHAT USES ARE ALLOWED ON THE
TRAIL?
The North Country Trail is built primarily for pleasure walking and hiking. However, in places other uses such as cross-country skiing, nowshoeing, horseback riding, and bicycling are appropriate and are allowed. On all public lands, local managers determine the uses that will be allowed in accordance with their management objectives and the capability of the land to accommodate the various uses without damaging the natural resources.

Over the past three decades the North Country Trail has slowly grown from an idea into a patchwork of trail segments stretching form New York to North Dakota. To date, many sections of the NCT utilize existing local trails that were/are already in place. In some places the NCT overlaps public rail trails. In other areas, such as lower Michigan, the NCT follows multiuse public trails.

While the NCT grows, it is also under attack. Not by loggers or developers, but by the people who would claim to protect it. The North Country Trail Association, a private group headquartered in Lowell, Michigan, acts as an advocacy group for the trail. But the NCTA has a myopic agenda. Their focus is not only to complete the trail and help to maintain it through volunteer support. The NCTA explicitly seeks to ban all other users from the trail. In areas where the NCT has overlapped local mountain biking and hiking trails, the NCTA is working to exclude everyone except hikers.

Imagine biking on a public trail your whole life, and even putting in volunteer trail work to keep it maintained, only to find-out one day that bikes have been banned from your local trail! That is exactly what the NCTA is trying to do.

This blog is intended as a place to present a view and opinion of the NCT that includes access for human powered locomotion where the terrain and trail can sustain it. The backcountry does not belong to one small clique. Like those trees in the forest, it belongs to all of us.