| WE GET LETTERS ! ! ! |  |
| August 25, 1993 Dear Editor of The Desert Sage: |
I've received and devoured with enthusiasm the July 1993 issue of The Desert Sage. It was packed with interesting and informative articles, clippings, letters, reports, statistics, and trip write-ups. Ron, you are doing an outstanding job as editor of The Desert Sage! Don't let anyone mislead you .. the newsletter is not too long., it is not frequent enough! I would be happy to pay additional subscription fees, if needed, to maintain the standard that you've set for our newsletter.
On a different subject, I would like to state that I share many of the sentiments expressed by Bill Hauser in the letter proposing the creation of the Baja Peaks list. The spirit of ADVENTURE has crossed the border - fleeing South! However, it is not the imminence of the National Park Service's control over Southern California deserts that has displaced the spirit of adventure in our local desert; it was the uncontrolled population growth in the world's most beloved state, as evidenced by the statistics reported by the Sierra Club Population Committee. While we protect our local desert from the ravages of uncontrolled population growth and rampant development, we must flee South across the border to seek adventure and to enjoy unspoiled desert wilderness. However, each year we must travel more miles further south to distance ourselves from rapidly expanding squalor just south of the border and from the other hordes of adventure seekers fleeing south with us.
I would like to have the DPS adopt more peaks to the list.. including more Baja peaks! I would love to see fellow DPS members step off the beaten path. Last year the majority of the DPS members did NOT vote to keep the list unchanged. The majority of the DPS members just did NOT vote. It was not even a "Clinton mandate" to keep the list unchanged! In fact, the majority of DPS members that chose to express their opinion on the subject wanted to have most of the proposed peaks added to the list; unfortunately, they did not constitute the majority of the apathetic membership taken as a whole! So, what to do? Change the by-laws? Propose the peaks for addition again and work hard to get out the vote? Or, burn the DPS Road And Peak Guide, trade in the 4Runner on a '67 Chevy, and head South?
Or, the DPS can designate another achievement award to entice the membership to seek adventure exploring new and perhaps unlisted peaks in far away forbidden zones.. including the peaks from Bill Hauser's Baja Peak list? The new achievement award can enjoy the status someplace between the current Emblem status and the List Finisher status. We could call it the Desert Rat award. The status pin for this ward could be a replica of a punctured tire. The criteria for receiving this award could be something like:
- climb at least 50 listed peaks,
- climb at least 25 unlisted peaks,
- climb at least 15 peaks from Bill Hauser's Baja Peak list, and
- participate in at least 5 desert exploration/study events (e.g. Steve Smith's range traverses)
Sincerely,
