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The root problem really gets down to there are many more people on the 
trails today. From the mid 70's to late 80's I backpacked just about 
every trail I could find from the beautiful Blue Ridge to the majestic 
Rockies. During that time you would seldom see anyone else on the trail. 
That all started to change in the early 90's. In 1980 four of us went on 
a 6 day backpacking trip in the Maroon Bells Wilderness near Aspen (CO). 
Once we got past the tourist destination of Maroon Lake (about 1/2 mile 
from the parking lot) we did not see another soul for 5 days to we came 
to Snowmass lake (easy walk in from Snowmass ski area). Once we got 1/2 
mile up the trail toward Buckskin Pass all people were gone again.

Dog off lease - no big deal except in the two areas mentioned above. In 
fact in all the Backpacking I did both east and west as soon as you left 
the trail head or got away from day use areas - you just didn't see any 
one.

In 1991 we went back out to the Maroon Bells with some friends who had 
always wanted to hike it. We didn't take our beloved German Shorthair 
since she was up in years by then. We hiked pretty much the same route 
except we entered from the Crested Butte side. The Maroon Bells was 
literally wall to wall people. There were people everywhere - so much 
for the solitude of the wilderness experience. We saw multiple parties 
every day. The same is true for the eastern mountains.

Today you just can't let a dog run with you when you go to the forest. 
It would be nice if people would realize that.

Truman

Bruce Weary DC wrote:
>  I am glad to see you address this, Kathy. I was going to, but felt my 
> comments would ruffle some feathers. Then I realized, that I, too, am 
> getting older, so I can say whatever I want. Neener-neener.
>  I have to admit it is one of my pet peeves when hikers, and sometimes 
> even riders, bring their dogs along on federal land, and let them run 
> loose when there is a leash law. Many dog owners (and yes I am one) 
> enjoy letting their dogs have some exercise on open land, but it often 
> infringes on the rights and safety of others, not to mention the law. 
> I  myself have many times been chased and even attacked on horseback 
> by loose dogs who are no more voice command trained than my goldfish. 
> Nine times out of ten the owner is helpless in bringing the dog back 
> under control from fifty yards away with voice commands. It often ends 
> up being a stern "Skippy, come here!" repeated ten times until they 
> get close enough to actually catch and leash the dog.  Sometimes dog 
> owners don't have a realistic view of their dog and it's level of 
> obedience, and often don't or can't know what it will do in a new, 
> open environment when it encounters children, other dogs, hikers, 
> bikers, rattlesnakes, rabbits, cows, horses, etc.,. It's for these 
> reasons that a leash law exists, for the safety of others and the dog 
> itself, but I often get a nasty reaction from people when I ask that 
> they leash their dog when I am riding. I would think people wouldn't 
> want the liability of what can happen with a loose dog, and happily 
> walk it on a leash.  It's a fair price to be paid for the privilege of 
> sharing our beautiful trails.    Dr Q
>
>
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--

"Mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we never know what 
we are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true." Bertrand 
Russell


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