by Joseph Sax - Jan-Feb-2001
reviewed by Caroline Pufalt
Mountains Without Handrails was originally published in 1980. For people who are interested in appropriate recreation in our National Parks and other public lands, this book is one of those classics that should be read and then re read about every decade. For me though, this was my first reading and how I wish I would have encountered it earlier. It clarified some ideas I had been mulling over and introduced me to new thoughts and historical perspectives.
I was encouraged to read Mountains Without Handrails by Dick Hingston. Dick is a Sierran from Arizona who has worked for years to combat noise pollution in our National Parks, primarily from overflights. He has especially focused on the overflight issue in Grand Canyon National Park. Having learned of that ongoing battle, I was able to see the special relevance of the ideas that Mr. Sax presents in his book.
Mr. Sax argues for the promotion of what he calls "contemplative recreation." Contemplative recreation is grounded in the natural features, natural pace and atmosphere each park provides. It is closely related to aesthetic appreciation but should be more than passive observation of scenic beauty.
To reach the degree of understanding of contemplative recreation that the author wants to share with the reader, Mr. Sax reviews the history of the creation and original purpose of our National Park System in order to point out that providing for public access to and recreation in our nation's spectacular landscapes is at the core of the park service mission. Mr. Sax refers back to an 1865 report by Frederick Law Olmstead, who was involved in managing the then state level Yosemite Park
Olmstead wrote that the first job of parks is to preserve scenery. His hope was for that scenery and the whole park setting to provide an opportunity for individuals to experience a time outside the controls and pressures of our everyday lives; to find a place where one could be free of the judgment of others and set ones own agenda. Mr. Sax agrees with this perspective but emphasizes that today we must encourage those individual agendas not to be at cross purposes with each park's pace and setting. Thus, Mr. Sax argues against motorized recreation, such as ORVs, but not against a moderate amount of scenic drive opportunities which reach a segment of visitors for whom circumstances permit only this less rigorous recreation.
Mr. Sax argues that park administrators should avoid the temptation to provide too much entertainment or resort–like accommodations for park visitors. His hope is that by facing wildness, visitors must bend to its limitations but set personal goals so as to achieve an individual experience and accomplishment. For some that accomplishment may be a back country hike. For others it may simply be a modest day hike and the realization that they can enjoy encountering nature and observing it. The individual choices and limits set may simply be the length of the hike, the terrain chosen, and variable time spent in observations. But for our fast paced, entertainment packaged, commercialized culture this may be an important first step.
Advocates of this recreational approach are then going against the grain of much that is popular in our culture. At the same time this approach has support within the Park Service and among a sizable segment of the American public who, although they may enjoy "resort like" conveniences, recognize that our National Parks need to preserve a less commercialized atmosphere. It is the job of advocates of contemplative recreation ( whom Mr. Sax calls preservationists ) to keep that support alive and enlarge it through education, example and hard work. According to Mr. Sax, preservationists are not the elitists they are often accused of being. Rather, they are moralists and social educators.
Moralists may not sound like much of an improvement over elitists as a moniker, but it does say more of what we hope to be about and what the National Parks should be about. After all the parks are for the people, but the point is that people must be willing to accept the lack of "handrails" to guide them through the park and take responsibility for enjoying the park on its own terms. Adapting to the terms that nature sets and finding ones own path to its appreciation is the real joy of recreation.
Mountains Without Handrails is a short book, only 113 pages. But those 113 pages are packed with clear thoughts, useful historical perspectives and inspiration that is relevant today. It has recently been reprinted by the University of Michigan Press.