This land is your land? Tensions rise over use of the great outdoors

When Boulder ultra-running legend Scott Jurek clambered to the top of Maine's Mount Katahdin — a spectacular, record-setting 46 days, 8 hours, 7 minutes after starting the 2,180-mile traverse of the Appalachian Trail — rangers from Baxter State Park were prepared. But they were not celebrating. They were writing citations. The champagne that spilled: littering. Sipping that champagne: alcohol violation. More than 12 people hiking together: another rule violation. Also, his film crew was cited for violating the rules of their permit by recording video on the summit. At first blush, the tickets issued June 12 seem a mean-spirited response to Jurek's impressive feat of endurance. But the issue goes much deeper, reflecting a growing unease with how new-school recreation — like ultra-running, BASE jumping, peak-bagging, group clinics and stand-up paddling — fits inside traditional perspectives on how Americans use their protected wildlands. Modern-day adventurers are not always the lonely, Thoreau-inspired hiker ambling through the woods — a reflective approach that for decades has been promoted as the only way to truly appreciate unspoiled lands. Yes, the new adventurers, like their predecessors, briefly are escaping their hectic, industrial lives. But they are using new tools, pursuing adrenaline surges and often trumpeting their play in online photos and videos...more