[at-l] 2,000 Miler Report

[Walt Daniels]

ATJ is an all members magazine. ATC has about 33,000 members, only a small
fraction of them are thru-hikers or even section hikers like me. Fortunately
many of them are only casual/occasional users of the trail who still support
the basic idea. If they all showed up on the trail there would be no room
for the active hikers. ATC does survey what the members want to see in ATJ
and that is what they provide. It is tough being in a minority.

 

Print media is having a hard time competing with the internet. Our real
community is here on the web. We can make it be what we want it to be.
Operating in a pure mailing list format like AT-L makes it hard to do some
things like publishing a directory. Publishing a directory is hard work. It
is more than just gathering the names. You also need to take their privacy
into account, hence (probably) the reason ATC only published names without
location data.

 

In what way is ATC management screwed up? Is it more screwed up than before
the reorganization? In what way? I was on the former Board of Managers for 6
years and my wife was on for 6 years before that so we know what was broken
then. I am now on the Stewardship Council so I am still involved. In many
ways the SC is similar to the old Board. We deal with the day to day running
of the trail and the volunteers. The Board deals with overall strategies
which have changed because now the trail is almost all protected but the
corridor is not. Either we raise the funds to protect more or lobby the
government to provide more or do nothing and let development destroy the
marvelous resource we have worked so hard to protect. If you don't like it,
get involved and work for what you want. This is now easier because much of
the responsibilities have been pushed out to the regions which are closer to
where you live and respond to regional differences. Believe me, dealing with
a hundred bedroom communities in the MidAtlantic is different that dealing
with USFS.

 

Try raising enough money to support the organization, or alternately try
cutting back the size to live on a more limited budget. Both are difficult
and maybe impossible tasks.

 

  _____  

From: at-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:at-l-bounces at backcountry.net] On
Behalf Of Leslie Booher
Sent: Monday, May 26, 2008 10:51 PM
To: Linda Patton; at-L at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [at-l] 2,000 Miler Report

 

Yes, I'm with you.  The "AT Journeys" isn't about us anymore.  It's all
glossy and slick and impersonal and really misses the point.  Where are the
real stories?  Where are the "here's what happened to me"?  Where are the
things I can relate to?  Where's Felix?  Were I not a life member, I, too,
might have un-subscribed.  The current form of "AT Journeys" takes out all
the fun.  I used to read every issue cover to cover.  Now, I rarely read
more than one section.  

 

Of course, I haven't been pleased with The Appalachian Trail Conservancy,
either.  It wasn't broke, but somebody had to mess with it.  It's like they
put in a whole middle management group between us and the trail activities.
The magazine is just the outward and visible sign of the inward problems.
To think that they paid someone good money to screw the whole organization
up.  

 

a'bear

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