Sunday, October 01, 2006


Borderline Security


So Congress has finally decided to get serious about our porous borders. Good-but trouble is it isn't just our border with Mexico that can use a little scrutiny. Our grand unguarded border with Canada is wide open. A sieve for drug runners, illegal immigrants, terrorists, and other riff raff. And our border with Canada is easier to cross than the one we share with Mexico.

Most of the Canadian Border from Washington to Montana is surrounded with deeply forested and mountainous terrain. But it isn't all wilderness. A maze of logging roads, especially on the BC side of the 49th parallel make it quite easy to get drug runners and illegal aliens on their way to the USA. They can easily drive up to the remote boundary-then hike one of our well maintained trails to a runner waiting for them at the trailhead.


Places like the Tomyhoi Valley (pictured above) can be traversed in less than a day, making wilderness survival skills unnecessary for the scofflaws. And it was exactly on this trail that I witnessed three drug runners hauling huge caches on a dreary August afternoon. I asked the "backpackers" where they were going and where they have been. They said they climbed Tomyhoi Peak. From Tomyhoi Lake?, I thought. Yeah- Right! They had gigantic packs on-garbage bags for rain protection-and they cut the switchbacks as they marched up to Gold Run Pass. They didn't seem too concerned about "losing" their garbage bag covers in the Mount Baker Wilderness either. So much for leave no trace. But the Junkies in Puget Sound could now rejoice-their delivery was on its way.


With the Forest Service's personnel dwindling to nothing-our northern border is slated to once again become a land of lawlessness where smugglers and no-gooders can freely roam into our country. We desperately need to once again establish wilderness guard houses, employ backcountry law patrol and get serious about nabbing and detaining lawbreakers. And one other thing-you junkies out there need to straighten-up. We're all paying for your filthy fix. Keep your filthy disgusting habits out of my sacred and precious wilderness. I leave the city to get away from this crap. Congress are you listening? Get serious about our borders-fund more law enforcement in the Forest Service before more innocent hikers get hurt or worse.

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