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Parc De La Gatineau - Restricted Area


fortrel

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People are talking about restricting activities that are currently tolerated. On the radio, I heard snowmobile, but none of the other activities they want to restrict. Does anybody know if Geocaching is part of those activities? They're supposed to have public consultations on October 27th ant 28th. I've been searching the NCC web site but I cannot find anything about this.

 

Can anybody help?

 

In french: from CBC website

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This makes me a little uneasy, especially after having just come back from an amazing trip into Gatineau a few weeks ago. Last time I did the trip on a rented mountain bike. Maybe next time I'll be forced to rent a car, since they apparently want to limit mountain biking. It might help conserve the park, but it isn't helping the environment or my wallet.

 

At any rate, we'll see what happens. I really hope it turns out well, Gatineau is now one of my favorite places to visit -- and to cache!

 

While I'm on topic, perhaps some locals can give me tips on planning my next trips.

 

I will be there in the last week of November. Will there be snow for cross-country skiing, or should I plan for another cycling trip? I need a non-motorized way to cover ground in the park.

 

Coming back again in February, I'm sure the skiing will be great then. I've just got to figure out where/how to rent skis. Can you take public transit to any rental locations?

 

Thanks for any info,

 

Regards,

Anthony

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November will be too early for skis ..... I hope! Please no snow until close to X-mas!

 

As for renting stuff, I am pretty sure you can rent that kind of stuff from MEC.

 

As for the mountainbike thing.. I am pretty sure (though the article doesn't go into much depth) that you will be able to ride the roads, and pathways, but they will be more strictly enforcing the no mountain biking on hiking trails.

 

I saw many a tire gouge on a supposedly "hiking only" trails last time I was there.

 

As for geocaching, sadly if it became an issue, from the general tone of the article they might prohibit it.

 

As long as it doesn't become an issue, then it should be OK. In other words... be respectful of the trail rules, and be discreet.

 

Just my $0.02

 

Scott

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As a Jeeper I have to agree with those who recommend a "low profile and no mention of geocaching" with regard to doing it in the Gatineaus. Or any other Gov't controlled Park for that matter.

 

Sometimes it is best to protect your sport/activity by NOT bringing attention to it. Yes it is almost a contradiction to do this, but some sports tend to be singled out and destroyed when they become known.

 

Jeepers and 4-wheelers in general constantly fight land restrictions and closures to their sport because of the knowledge of it in an area. It doesent matter how "responsible" or "careful" we are. It is not about the land in reality -- it is about one group controlling the activities of another (or others) under the guise of ecological protection.

 

If geocaching wants to survive in scenic public areas it MUST remain in the shadows and retreat from those who would try to remove it.

 

Public lands are meant for everyone, and multiple use. However -- this is not the fact of the matter. Daily we hear of closures, restrictions, bans, &c all aimed at specific activities or groups. Why push it and risk the use of a nice area?

 

All it would take is some goodey goodey eco freak to convince whomever has the power over these areas that geocaching is "organised littering". That it defaces the countryside by having untold numbers of packages with "stuff" in them all over the place...and guess what? WE LOSE! We become one more group prevented from enjoying what was meant for everyone -- not just animals and hikers.

 

My questions to these folks is: When do the hikers get banned for leaving footprints and who gets to use the land when eveyone is prohibited from it? What is the point of protecting something that no one can enjoy? Ok good we have millions of acres of protected wilderness -- but it just sits there doing nothing in particular and no one is allowed to go into it. We do however prevent fires from occuring in it and other events that should be taking place to revitalise it (which is un-natural).

 

I'm sorry if I got off topic, but these people worry me, I don't understand the mentality to "lock up the world". The rights of the many mean nothing apparently to the few. The unfortunate thing is, they have fooled the Gov'ts into believeing this too. And politicol correctness just helps fan this fire with no one willing to hurt anyone's feelings or step on anyone's toes -- except those who actually get some enjoyment from the things that all these people would prevent us from doing.

 

I hope you see my point here. If you want to protect geocaching in certain areas, it may be best to just "hush hush". Sometimes it is best to remain quiet and un-noticed. Let the chips fall as they may under their own power and don't force the hand is my advice. There is always time to "step up" when there is an actual battle to fight.

 

Sorry for going on about this, it just struck a nerve here is all.

 

PJ :mad:

Edited by Prairie Jeepin
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Haven't managed to find the actual plan yet to read it in details, but what I get from the summary is :

 

1) They want to charge more people to use the park, which might mean more parking fees or access fees for example.

 

2) The comment about mapping seems to be directed toward the orienteering community. As a member of the Ottawa Orienteering Club, I know that park employees have complained about the fact that "non-official" trails are on our maps. An orienteering map, to be usable, needs to describe accurately the terrain. We can't pretend that those trails don't exist. We didn't create them, but we will draw them if they are there. The fact that we don't use the same part of the park for an event more than once in a season has seemed to satisfy park officials so far, I hope this is not changing.

 

The most important quote in the article seems to be:

 

"If the plan goes through, growth in human activities will be concentrated around the park's edges, leaving the centre pretty much the way it is."

 

Meaning they are not going to make new trails, except maybe on the edge of the park and are trying to stop people from creating more.

 

Therefore, I think they intend to limit the use of motorized equipment in the park and, possibly, some sports like orienteering and adventure racing, that hold events inside park limits with large numbers of people at once. Since geocachers generally use the official trails, with usually a little bit of bushwacking at the end, they don't use those illegal trails and geocaching should not be a problem, unless a cache is so popular that a trail leading to it appears. Or unless they plan to forbid anyone to get off the trails (how could they possibly enforce that?)

 

As for mountain biking, its already forbidden on most trails (expept the roads, the largest trails and Camp Fortune), so they're probably talking about applying the actual rules, not changing them. The mountain bikers seem indeed to be responsible for many of the trails that so annoy park officials. How do I know? Well, many of those trails are dotted with strange constructions made of branches and designed as mountain bike obstacles... Now, the trail might have been a game trail at first (so many deers), but once those obstacles are built, the mountain bikers are asking to be blamed.

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Re: Shared uses....

 

It's part of life up here in the Yukon that lots of people do lots of stuff outdoors, both motorized and not. We're spoiled, really. Within a 50km radius of anywhere there are always tons of trails and old roads to explore. Many of them aren't even mapped.

 

The really sad thing is that, with all this space and so few people, we still have constant conflict between users.

 

Any activity -- hiking, biking, snowmobiles, ATVs, hunting, fishing, geocaching... -- doesn't have to harm the land if done responsibly. Certainly there are trails or areas where you want to limit or encourage certain uses, but I think that ecological considerations aren't really the big issue.

 

I find conflicts tend to be based more on people. There is no reason that shared use can't be successful, if people are responsible to the land and courteous to each other.

 

Unfortunately, up here people tend to adopt an "us vs. them" attitude that doesn't help matters. We've had people throwing punches on trails up here this year.

 

We also have the problem where people think that "goddamnit, this is the Yukon. We have tons of land and I have the right to go anywhere I want and do anything I want, and you can't stop me."

 

I really wish people would stop talking about their rights, and start thinking about their responsibilities. If we all looked at it as a shared responsibility, it would help people get along better.

 

For example, the Klondike Snowmobile Association maintains hundreds of kilometers of the Trans-Canada Trail network up here that EVERYONE gets to use. It works great. I've had lots of people pass me on snowmobiles while I am skiing and they always slow down and wave or nod.

 

That's really all it comes down to. The person who whips by at 100 km/h and endangers lives, the people who construct homemade barriers on trails, the people who cut down trees to get around those barriers.... sigh....

 

This all leads to conflict, and then you get well-meaning people trying to come in and legislate a solution. Really, the solution is just all about people getting along and recognizing their obligations to the land and to future generations.

 

Regards,

Anthony

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After a really quick read over lunch time, I can say the only possible impact of this plan on geocaching seems to be the possibility of access fees ;)

 

Other than that, the news are good : more access points trails are planned (and public transportation to the Gamelin access!), more winter hiking trails too, no mentions of cracking down on off-trail hiking.

 

They do say they want to limit competitive and motorized sports in the park, and they also mention a list of activities they want to stop : extreme sports (ie adventure racing), rock climbing on the Eardley escarpment, snowmobile, winter fishing, radio-controlled planes, naturism (except in feeding the mosquitoes, how does that impact the environment? ;) ). Actually, the zone marked as "deep conservation area" has very few caches as it is, since most caches are near the trails, so in the "recreational area". Overall, not much to worry about, unless you cache naked :lol: .

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I'm convinced that if the NCC were named by George Orwell, it would be called the Ministry of Fun and Consideration for the People.

 

What's the point of having a publicly accessible park, then telling the public they're not allowed to even go LOOK at most of the park?

 

I've been pouted at in Gatineau park for operating a ham radio in one of their parking lots as part of a ham radio even similar to geocaching. I've been sh*t upon for being off-trail when I dropped a water bottle and it bounced/rolled about 8 feet into the bush and a ranger/officer/whatever they are happened to be right near me. Let's face it, in GP, the only thing I'm disturbing off-trail are mosquitoes and poison ivy, and it's not like I was running a platoon of Leopard II tanks off the trail, not even a bicycle either - I was walking. There are other stories I could tell.

 

Essentially, I've had enough bad experiences around the park that I just stay out of it now.

 

The park has decent roads running through it, but they want to discourage even use of those. I think the NCC dream will be the day they can put up a sign that says "Welcome to Gatineau Park" on the Ottawa side, along the river where you can look but not touch.

 

Of course, the NCC owns the land along the river as well... I'm amazed they haven't banned caching there, or forced it to be bilingual and require an annual licence.

Edited by geoSquid
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