Irvine CA 92715
October 9, 1986
Letter to the Editor
The Desert Sage
Paul Bloland's letter about the proposed (DPS senior/advanced emblem reflects my ideas exactly. He wrote my letter, so I have to write another one.
I think it is a good idea to have such an emblem. I have spent ever so many hours discussing the pros and cons of emblems and awards, particularly with rock climbers, who object to such emblems for good reasons. In a highly technical and hazardous sport, emblem fever can be dangerous. Would you climb with a person who boasted about medals? I wouldn't.
But as a member of the (DPS and SPS, I have observed that the emblems do provide life and spirit to the organization. This spirit means more members, and having more members on a trip, particularly experienced members, means safety. Our peak-bagging sport has a lot more to it than placing protection. On a typical desert road, it is nice to have people along who know how to fix a leaky gas tank.
While having a list-finisher pin might seem enough, especially since the list is relatively short, I still think there is room for a senior emblem.
Finishing the list requires perfection, but it has been my experience that few Sierra Club members are in favor of perfection, even conceptually. I was taught that a proper flower arrangement is asymmetric, with a flower or two missing. Most of us have a peak or two missing. A senior emblem would provide an incentive for non-perfectionists to stick around, and these are precisely the kind of people who can deal with imperfect gas tanks. List finishers have a new one flown in.
I agree totally with Paul's requirements. The senior emblem should be based on peak-bagging. I think if the requirements had been stated this way, we would now have such an emblem.
Perhaps it would be good to have a separate emblem for canyon traverses. But the requirements should be quantitative; to climb a peak is to access a point (the summit), but to traverse a canyon is to traverse many points along a line, say from A to B. If the distance between A and B is undefined, what does it mean? When we have a respectable list of such traverses, then we can consider having an emblem.
As for hot springs, there already is an emblem, which I helped found. The idea was fundamentally a put-on, and isn't all that popular; when I was Keeper of the List I answered maybe 20 requests for the list in a yeas. The hot springs are fun after DPS trips, but another section takes care of the administrative stuff, and I recommend leaving it to them. I went on a Saline Hot Springs trip once, but did Pleasant on the way in and Nelson on the way out. I needed the peaks.
I do think it is appropriate for outings sections to lead conservation-oriented outings. In my view, the Angeles Chapter doesn't have a conservation program, except for self-congratulatory articles in Southern Sierrian whose main purpose is to reflect the authors. We have 45,000 members and a Conservation Committee of a dozen or so - an army with over two divisions of privates and a handful of generals and nothing in between. We aren't even disorganized; we were never organized in the first place.
No wonder we have to breathe smog. If the Angeles Chapter were a real conservation outfit, you could see Big Picacho from Griffith Park at noon, if the earth wasn't round.
Owen Maloy