Sure, they're choices. But I don't think it's a reasonable system if
getting a permit in less than ten years requires you to quit your job,
work double overtime, close your practice...
Everybody, to some extent, wants the system to work for them and people
just like them. I was reacting to Bill Mooz's extreme viewpoint that since
the system worked for people who structure their whole lives around the
Colorado River, like him, the system was fine, and everybody else could
just shove it (to paraphrase) :)
Nothing personal against Bill, and I can understand his stance. Hey,
dedication does deserve respect. On my one trip down, the boater who
impressed me the most was someone who'd been down 10 times or more. On a
personal basis, I don't begrudge him that at all. But does deserve to go
to the front of the line, and leave the others to wait ten years? Is he
really more deserving than all the people who haven't had a shot at it
yet? There are lots of great people out there who can't get on the river.
Just because I haven't met them, doesn't mean they're not deserving, too.
Let me bring up one more issue - familiarity with the river. From
personal correspondence with him, I get the impression Bill Mooz has been
boating on the Colorado since a long time ago, probably since before I was
born. I, on the other hand, first visited the Grand Canyon in my
twenties, got on the waiting list then, and renewed every year until I got
a permit at age 35. During the 9 years wait, I didn't have a very
realistic idea what the water was like - the Canyon whitewater has
mythical status in many books. So I was not aggressive about trying to
pick up a cancellation. In fact, I was mostly unaware of how to get a
cancellation, how many cancellations there were, and so forth.
Now that I've been down once, yes, I could pick up a cancellation, and I
might try to. I could put together a trip in less than a month, no
problem. I keep up with canyon issues more. I monitor this list. But
how about the other poor saps who are low on the list and don't have any
experience? If being a Colorado River Rat is so important that the list
should give them effective priority, where is the next generation of Bill
Mooz types going to come? The average Joe would be middle aged before he
can get two trips under his belt. The insiders are favored already by
being able to go on trips with friends, or on trips with strangers as
"guest expert," an option not available to newcomers.
I know, everybody should quit their jobs, move to Arizona, yadda yadda
yadda. I agree with what someone else said: bullpucky. Having no other
life is a silly criterion for deciding who gets to go. The system is
broke. It needs fixing, and I don't think the cancellation-based permits
are a particularly great part of the system, even if they do work for a
small minority.
Hope everyone else is writing the Park Service as well as this list. I
enjoy the exchange, but I also realize this list as such doesn't make a
whit of difference to what the Park Service decides.
Chris Hill
Everett, WA
cehill@u.washington.edu
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