Anza-Borrego

To rebut the two letters of May 7 in favor of all-terrain vehicles being allowed in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park:

Camping here seemed like the best time and place to answer those letters, and sure enough, it was. I met a man named Slim and his horse Dynamo at the south end of the park on their way to Riverside, so when Richard Fisher writes that a motor vehicle is necessary to enjoy the primitive state, he’s wrong; and wrong again when he says that there are “no significant hiking trails” in the park; the entire park is a significant hiking trail!

The same goes for Fred Mack, who says that a vehicle is necessary to experience the vastness and beauty of the park. Since he doesn’t say motor vehicle, Dynamo and I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, but does he really expect to be taken seriously when he makes final judgment after his only six- to eight-hour visits? I suggest he spend six to eight days in Anza-Borrego, lest he think, like Mr. Fisher, that “the general user doesn’t exist.” We exist quite nicely, thank you, without the noise of polluting machines. The simple solution is to just turn the engines off and let us enjoy the park for what it is: a beautiful and mighty monument of divine handiwork, and not just someone’s playground.

ANDY SUSSMANN

Los Angeles