Rules of the Road

Regarding “Mammoth Panoramas From High Sierra Crest” (Hiking, Sept. 5): It is too bad that hiker/author John McKinney is allowed to espouse his narrow-minded intolerance of people who do not recreate exactly like he does. Other than that, his article on Minaret Summit Ridge road was well done, and I can’t wait to visit it.

Congress decided to leave this road open for shared use by wheelchairs and mountain bikes, along with four-wheel-drives. Since 95% of all visitor use on national forest land takes place within a half mile of a motor vehicle, this decision appears to have been in the public’s best interest.

The five percenters already have about half of all public recreation land set aside for their exclusive use. In this rare case, Congress did something for the majority.

JERRY COUNTS

Canoga Park