Trail Riding in the Wilderness 



537 



was assumed to be a half-century in 

 the future, and the probability that the 

 trees would live that long seemed ex- 

 tremely remote. For those reasons 

 heavy cutting seemed justified. 



But the many who exalted forest 

 beauty over forest economy rejected 

 this reasoning as specious rather than 

 sound. Their discovery that the stately 

 trees that fringed their most cherished 

 meadow or road or trail or mountain 

 slope had been cut in a logging opera- 

 tion frequently was followed by an 

 emotional explosion. So the practice 

 came into force of reserving from cut- 

 ting, or cutting only lightly, selectively, 

 and almost unnoticeably, the stands of 

 national forest timber that have defi- 

 nite esthetic values. 



Until as recently as two or three cen- 

 turies ago, the chief purpose of many 

 forests and many foresters in the older 

 countries was to provide sport to the 

 wealthy, the provision of fuel wood and 



building timber being purely incidental 

 and subordinate purposes. It is im- 

 probable that such a narrow and illogi- 

 cal use of forests will ever occur in the 

 United States, but it is not at all im- 

 probable that the provision of whole- 

 some types of outdoor sport will be a 

 major, if not a principal, use of many 

 American forests. 



L. F. KNEIPP entered Government 

 service at the age of 19 by appointment 

 as a forest ranger in the then Territory 

 of Arizona, in April 1900. In 1904 he 

 became acting supervisor of the Pecos 

 River Forest Reserve in New Mexico; 

 shortly thereafter he also assumed 

 charge of the adjoining Jemez and 

 Taos Forest Reserves. After several 

 other assignments, in 1920 he became 

 an assistant chief of the Forest Service, 

 in charge of land activities, a position 

 he held until his retirement from active 

 service in 1946. 



TRAIL RIDING IN THE WILDERNESS 



SHIRLEY W. ALLEN 



Because of the very inaccessibility 

 that gives charm and mystery to wild 

 places, few Americans in the past 40 

 years have ever found themselves far 

 from the sound of an automobile horn. 

 Fewer yet, but for the foresight and 

 planning of the American Forestry 

 Association, would have been able to 

 enjoy the thrills that greet the wilder- 

 ness traveler as he rounds a bend in the 

 trail or stream and sees before him the 

 flowering meadow, the majestic moun- 

 tain back of it, or the wild animal which 

 looks, turns, and disappears into cover. 



Not everyone will want such oppor- 

 tunities; they may be one man's meat 

 and another's poison. But it is safe to 

 say that those who crave such adven- 

 ture would number at least a million in 

 our country. 



Horseback trips (and to a less ex- 

 tent, canoeing) have been available at 

 reasonable cost almost every year since 



1933 to the members of this association 

 of citizens, which serves as a rallying 

 place for friends of forestry, whether 

 they be trained foresters or plain pub- 

 lic-spirited folk. It is the latter group 

 that forms the bulk of the membership, 

 and many of them had their introduc- 

 tion to the program by signing up as 

 "Trail Riders of the Wilderness." 

 Once exposed, they are incurable con- 

 servationists. 



The idea of exploring, studying, and 

 enjoying the wilderness country on 

 horseback expeditions came to the 

 American Forestry Association in 1932 

 from the West. The desire for such ad- 

 venture had there found its best chance 

 in terms of the small party and horse- 

 back travel. The occasion might arise 

 as a "go-along" venture from a cattle 

 or sheep ranch when routine work of 

 the range had to be done. It might start 

 with a hunting season that required 



