Who’s out of control?

Dear Editor:

OK, I will keep this one brief. To Sloan Shoemaker and all Hidden Gems proponents: Balcony is NOT a new trail. I discovered and rode it 15 years ago, and only recently have mountain bikers improved it for sustainability. I have no idea how long it has been there, but I am really sick and tired of all these “Wilderness” people who actually believe a mountain bike can destroy the life of an elk or bear any more than a hiker can. “Out of control” community, according to Shoemaker. All I see as “out of control” is these people’s ignorance of mountain bike ethics and their Puritan outlook on wilderness. Cameras to catch the witches, squirrel-killers, and bear den raiders, riding our evil broomsticks through the forsaken wilderness. I suppose, as an Aspen High School graduate, I have been proudly wearing a Scarlet Letter “A” for about 25 years. I can’t wait to find those cameras to flip a bird at ’em. Now that’s wilderness.

Chris “Dogger” Anderson

Aspen/Fruita