Originally Posted by
tandempower
Between inflation and blocking the ability to hike/bike camp freely over long distances for extended periods of time, the net effect is to trap people into continue submitting to paid employment. If you just want to work a little and get more free time to hike/bike/camp or you want to retire early or take leaves of absence from work to hike/bike/camp on the cheap, this will limit your ability to travel.
My observation is that:
- For the most part folks riding and camping on the C&O are not travelling "freely over long distances for extended periods of time". They are using the C&O as a short destination vacation and get there by car or sometimes airplane and get back to the start using motorized transportation.
- Folks who actually are "hike/bike camping freely over long distances for extended periods of time" are out there crossing the country (or travelling in other countries) and a lot of them are spending next to nothing for camping or in some cases nothing at all. Many people cross the US every year averaging $5 or less per day for camping. It isn't hard to do, I have done it myself. Charging for camping on the C&O will have no effect on people's ability to do that since most of the folks doing long tours do not rely on places like the C&O, GAP, or the Katy trail and most people who ride the C&O or similar are not doing long tours.