Re: Grouse Grind closing in early September for major improvements
Dear Editor,
Metro Vancouver has over-imposed its stewardship of this park and its trails to the point where the public is not being served.
Wherever this bureaucracy starts controlling parks, inconveniences, closures and busywork seem to follow.
Now, the Grind will close as of Sept. 5 for the mother of all make-work programs, a completely unnecessary trailhead facelift.
Granted, helicopter operations, tree felling, excavation, assessment and abatement work will naturally result in some closures. But these extraordinary projects should be co-ordinated and carried out expeditiously so as to minimize public inconvenience, not extend it ad nauseam as is increasingly the case.
The Grouse Grind is not the Great Wall of China. At some point, routine maintenance simply must suffice and this rugged mountain trail’s default status needs to be “open,” not “closed.”
The trail’s condition is already vastly improved over what existed 30 years ago, and there were none of these interminable closures in those days.
My understanding is that a couple of enthusiastic hikers worked on the trail in the 1980s entirely of their own volition! And apparently even back then the GVRD frowned on this activity.
Tragically, there have been serious injuries and deaths of Grind hikers over the years.
A hiker was swept away by an avalanche in 1999. But no amount of bureaucratic interference can prevent sedentary, middle-aged people from challenging the trail unadvisedly and suffering fatal cardiac arrests, and they surely constitute the majority of deaths.
How about staffing the Grind with some trail hosts and a few more rangers rather than just closing it because Metro doesn’t want to deal with the popularity of the trail?
Participants always enter the trail completely at their own risk anyway, a giant disclaimer sign and an online waiver notice tell us so.
Stefan Forrestal
North Vancouver
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