Bike Mountain, Make Wilderness - Part 2

Idealism and inspiration aside, my bike strategy is governed by at least one sober reality—my Subaru is ancient and has a gas tank about the size of a Dixie™ cup. It takes just about a half-tank of gas to get from the nearest gas station out to the Kern Mountains, which leaves approximately half-tank of gas to either 1) perform my survey work, or 2) promptly return to the nearest gas station. Including the food and water stops that need to be made when I go back to civilization, refueling is an 8-hour round trip. Bike failure would have serious consequences out here....


[Lupines give definition to the "blue" in Blue Mass Canyon, Kern Mountains. White Pine County, NV. Photo: David Smoyer.
Map: Proposed boundary for Blue Mass Wilderness. Survey work  compared on-the-ground realities with this mapped proposal.

Remote Nevada dirt roads are often little more than twin shadowy lines of heavily rutted singletrack. Hiking some of these old mining thoroughfares can be an adventure on foot, let alone two wheels. The bike I used for this project had to be able to carry me, one-week’s worth of food, a minimum of two days supply of water, and all of my gear—a combined payload of about 400 lbs.—over roads that are often more scary than most of my hometown singletrack, and it had to do it without any problems. At any given time, I would be two days from my car; double that to the closest paved road. 

* * *

Bikes and wilderness share an unlikely bond that doesn’t find its way into most conversations: they are a highly achievable means for average folks to incorporate freedom and adventure into their lives. Before wilderness is even designated; before the high-tech, ultra-light, polyester pioneers wage their weekend assaults; before most folks even know it’s there, wilderness bestows upon us its quiet blessings of clean air and fresh water, anointing the impoverished and imperial alike. On an individual level, true indulgence in the gifts of wilderness takes little more than a pair of shoes and a willingness to go for a walk. 

Like wilderness, bikes are easily accessible. Outside of walking, bicycles are the world’s most universally available means of transportation. Their special transport offers all who ride them a unique gift: most anyone who has ever ridden a bike can tell you about one ride when they felt, for a moment, the closest equivalent to flying that most ground-bound beings will ever know, short of leaving the earth.

Implicit in bike and wilderness experiences alike are the twin spirits of freedom and adventure. These two spirits, more than any other, are what buoyed weary pioneers across the endless seas of waving grass and burning desert. The fevered rush of exploration and discovery spread across our country’s prairie, mountain, and tablelands like spilled water, and the aching desire for freedom, and unquenchable urge to know genuine adventure did not expire when the driven masses reached the golden shores of the Pacific. When once that frontier had been closed, those same spirits forced open the doors of possibility in other frontiers at home and abroad until, it seems, the explorations had been executed, the discoveries made, and the adventures had all been plucked while still ripe with hope. 

Our modern understanding of wilderness—and much of what compels us to protect it today—stems from a desire to preserve the landscape that shaped such an important part of our American identity.

(Bike Mountain, Make Wilderness - Part 3 coming soon)

[Top - Climbing out of Mallory Canyon toward Tungstonia Pass. Photo: Dave Smoyer.
Bottom - Looking down into the granite gargoyle heart of Blue Mass. Photo: localcrew]

Comments

[TwoSevensClash]

Interesting piece here, localcrew. TBH, when I first saw where you were going with this, I considered myself pretty firmly in the "no mountain bikes in wilderness areas" camp. (Keep in mind that I have been a mountain biker for 15 years and a regular bike commuter.) I feel this way not so much for the erosion that bikes will cause - which they will - but more because of the inevitable knuckleheads out there that always feel compelled to do something wantonly destructive.

We've already seen some from the free-ride camp building courses deep in the wilderness and while I find some of this stuff pretty cool, I just don't want any of it in a wilderness area (even if its all constructed with hand tools).

However, when posed with the question of whether or not it is acceptable to use a mountain bike as a tool to increase wilderness area acreage, you've kind of changed the question. If its acceptable to use your bike for this purpose, is it then NOT ok to ride these areas in the event that they become designated wilderness? I haven't decided what my feelings are about that yet. Thought provoking, for sure. Thanks.

[wolfy]

I don't think that's the issue. If it is, then what if you use a truck/quad/moto/snomo to scout wilderness?

-M

[CM]

On the topic of mapping:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/06/3-d_forest_mapping.php

[localcrew]

TwoSevens. Sorry for the much-delayed reply. Been in the mountains for the past month and am just now getting caught up on all that's gone on while I've been away. I wish I was here for this great comment of yours.

I hope the remainder of this piece put things in a little better perspective as far as where I'm coming from. Just for the record, I wasn't trying to change questions--just trying to work through a dilemma that I think a number of mountain bikers struggle with.

There's a great article about this in an older Dirt Rag (issue #112). The article explores an essay published by a Louisiana attorney exploring Congress' original intent with the 1964 Wilderness bill. Here's a quote from his essay:

"Congress intended to prohibit the passive transport of passengers. It did not intend to prohibit simple forms of human-powered transport, such as bicycles, snowshoes, skis, kayaks, rowboats, or climbing equipment, that can be used quietly on narrow trails or natural features. These devices do not require roads, nor do they leave any permanent trace. The House wanted to preclude mechanical transport, whether or not motorized, that would require artificial infrastructure and permanent alteration of the physical environment." (471)

(http://www.dirtragmag.com/print/article.php?ID=673&category=departments)

Though I think I make my own stance clear by the end of the last post, I wish there was more discussion about the bigger question of to what extent wilderness is a state of mind vs. a legislatively defined entity.