Tourism, Recreation and Trail Impacts - Tourism and Trails: Cultural, Ecological and Management Issues - page 146

revaluating their perceptions of the track or practicing coping strategies
such as avoiding other trampers, crowded huts or either camping or actively
seeking secluded spots.
Closely connected to crowding is the notion of people's quietude being
interrupted by other users (Beeton, 1999a, 1999b; Dolesh, 2004b; Greenleaf
et al. , 1984). For many people the idyllic settings of ecotrails or other back-
woods tracks should be devoid of humans, except for them, and they favor
wildland trails because people are more dispersed, resulting in fewer contacts
with others (Hammitt & Patterson, 1993). Dolesh (2004b: 59) observed,
'there are some people who refuse to share the trail . . . a very small percent-
age thinks their use of the trail is better than yours'. Of horseback riders,
Ruff and Mellors (1993: 105) declared 'walkers and horse riders who come
into contact with mountain bikers felt annoyance at the uses of what they
regard as their recreation area'. For some people, encountering other parties
is severely distracting, but this appears to be especially so at campsites. They
are thus better able to deal with crowded trails than they are with over-
crowded campsites (Hammitt & Patterson, 1993).
When users set out to find solitude in nature, encounters with others can
be upsetting or disturbing. This includes incursions with non-humans, as
one study from southern Utah noted how seasonal cattle grazing along
scenic byways affected drivers' experiences negatively because they detracted
from the natural look of the meadows (Clay & Daniel, 2000). Research
shows that path users are typically comfortable meeting their 'own kind' on
trails (Goeft, 2000; Landsberg et al. , 2001), but they tend to feel acrimony
toward other users, particularly faster or more mechanized travelers in urban
and suburban areas, where trail conflicts are more commonplace (Jacoby,
1990). Hikers often report being annoyed by horses, bikers or ATV (all ter-
rain vehicle) riders (Dolesh, 2004b; Ravenscroft & Long, 1994).
The issue of noise and quietude, previously mentioned, is examined in
the following case study of the Great Walks of New Zealand, where it is
important to be able to determine what percentage of noise noticed is trans-
lated into being bothered by that noise, and what social impact that has on
recreationist and tourist experience with peripheral wilderness settings.
Case Study: Noise Impact on the Great Walks of
New Zealand
At the beginning of this case study, it is important to distinguish noise
effects from noise impacts; the former are the sounds generated, whereas
the latter can be considered any specifically negative outcomes. From a
social perspective, social impacts of noise do not relate to the occurrence
of noise events, but rather the meanings and associations people attribute