Re: GC Commercial Trips & free rides

Bitsy Bredimus (mebredim@srp.gov)
Thu, 18 Sep 1997 08:33:35 -0700


Judy Zachariasen wrote:

I'm on this list 'cause I love the Canyon and want to do a trip there
soon if I can, but I am also a guide elsewhere and know commercial
boating inside and out. There is a lot of anti-commercial sentiment
expressed in this group which I think is a pity. I think much of it is
born of ignorance. Guides are private boaters when they are not working
and are very sympathetic to the needs of private boaters in general if
only because their own interests are also involved. They also tolerate a
lot of crap from a lot of private boaters who are not as aware, often,
of river etiquette, or who run rivers over their abilities. I have saved
a lot of private asses over the years. Commercial guide are not evil -
they're usually nice people who know a lot about hte river and love it.
Give 'em a break.

GCboaters:

Well stated, Judy. The sort of mud-slinging I read on this list server
really saddens me. It's just this sort of separatism that keeps us all
at one anothers throats. The planet is too small for this, and the
canyon is NO place for intolerance.

All of us are here (or in the process/ struggle to be here) because we
are drawn to the Canyon. Private and commercial alike, we love this
particular place above all others. Yes, we have to occasionally clean-up
after one another, but we do it. We ALL do it. I haven't hiked a stretch
of the canyon without a baggie and latex gloves to pick up someone's
waste. I'm certain you can relate.

We are all guests in the Canyon. Guests and educators. I like to use
commercial trips as a vehicle for educating newcomers to this special
place, and promoting the idea that being here is both a privilege and a
responsibility. Marble Canyon and Bridge City Dams might have been a
reality if fewer people were aware of this trust.

We are a rare fraternity of river runners. Although we come in a variety
of types, we are united by the things we celebrate. Something to keep in
mind when doing battle with the bureaucracy.
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