dewmercer wrote:The line from the rock garden to sledgehammer is about 10000' long and runs at an average depth of 70' dropping down to 100 in places. It is periodically cleaned and repaired by various groups who use it for tec training and fun. Running the line from end to end is, imo, a dive of medium proportion as you typically need an extra scooter, maybe a bottom stage and, if you are fast, you'll need to spend about 10min on O2 when you're done. Its not a run for novices.
I agree that if its only purpose was as a navigational aid it could certainly be pulled and the scoot run could still be done. However, the training that takes place on it is tec line laying, line maintenance and training teams in running long lines on scoots with multiple cylinders, extra scoots, etc. Doing that type of training in clear water is easier and safer than doing it in the crap viz of Lake W or at C2 where viz is very hit and miss.
If the line was unused trash I'd say yank it but it is a frequently used underwater roadway. There was a big sign on it last year that was put in as a joke. It serves no purpose and should be pulled. If the line was a tangled mess or hazard I'd say repair it or yank it. It was not in that state last year and we'll be making any repairs needed this summer.
The argument that national parks should be left as they are is reasonable to a point but that would also mean that we should not build roads, trails, camp sites or anything else in them. We do these things to allow people to experience the park and have fun. The line is the same thing regardless of its being officially sanctioned. It helps divers who are interested in lines and line running have fun and train. It actually gives me a reason to visit the park as I generally find Lake C to be somewhat sterile and boring.
The line was laid in a long time ago (10+ years) and has become a fixture for many of us. I know the guys who put it in, the history that surrounds it (quite interesting if you're into that sort of thing) and the people who maintain it. Sure its not a natural artifact but if you are going to pull it up then I'd say get rid of the barge, the hidden village, the warren and steel cars also. Hell, Seacrest is a city park. Pull everything out of C2. Get rid of the fishing reef at salt water. Its the same argument and its not a good one.
Saying that the line sets a precedent is fair and I'd say that if lines were proliferating then it would be a dangerous and abused precedent. As far as I know, lines are not proliferating at Crescent so the precedent is not being abused. If it starts being abused the fix THAT problem.
The line is in no way offensive to the 99.999% of park visitors who will never even know it is there. I'd be surprised if most divers who use the park will ever see it and of those, very few will be offended. Just because you don't understand the why its there, why its useful and you just don't get what could ever be fun about lines in no way implies that it has no purpose and is not enjoyed by some.
I wish the dive community had some kind of organized voice in deciding how the park is used. We don't.
Please just leave the line alone. Its not hurting anybody or damaging the environment in any way. Its not a hazard. Its not detracting from anybodies experience of the natural beauty of the lake (at least as far as I know). Unilaterally deciding to pull it based on your assumptions and bias which may not be broadly shared is just as questionable as the original decision to put it in but there is nothing that can be done to change history.
Besides, if you tear it up (no small accomplishment and one which is somewhat risky) it will just get put back in and endless juvenile squabbling will ensue. The rangers will probably catch wind of it and they will then have an excuse to close the lake to divers as we are nothing but a bunch of litter bugs.
Dave, first off, thanks for the thoughtful post. It says something for us as a community that we can have a conversation like this and exchange differences of perspective without the rancor that usually accompanies such topics on an internet forum. I appreciate both the tone and the perspective.
I also want to point out that I'm not advocating pulling the line ... I'm asking those who use it to think about why their access to East Beach is being restricted, and to consider that maybe there's more to it than just a bias on the rangers' part toward a different group of users. The original post stated that East Beach is where this line originates, and that makes me think the rangers know it's there. He also said that there are other lines in the lake, and that makes me wonder how many ... who put them there ... why they're there ... and whether they're as "invisible" to the people who determine access as some of you seem to believe.
But the issue isn't really the line or why it's there. It's whether or not putting those lines in and leaving them in has an impact on park personnel's decision to allow diving access to the lake. Because if it does, then it impacts more people than just the handful of divers who find those lines useful. This isn't, in some aspects, any different than the issues faced by Florida cave divers when a handful of untrained people insist on their right to dive the caves. Sure, they have every right to be there ... but their doing so has a potential impact on everyone else's access to the place, because a third party gets to decide who gets that access, and if you give them a reason to say "no", a certain percentage of them surely will.
I'm not advocating one way or the other ... I haven't dived at Lake Crescent in about five years, and I can go the rest of my life without going back. So it doesn't particularly affect me. I'm just tossing some thoughts out there for you folks who do dive there to think about ... primarily the notion that if your access is being restricted, perhaps it's due to something you did or something you advocate doing rather than a simple case of bias on the part of park rangers.
It is a bit concerning to me that some in the tech community promote this as a "big dive" ... because that implies a mentality that will, at some point, attract someone who has no business being there. And all it will take to close Lake Crescent to diving forever will be a fatality that someone determines is due to the attraction of that line. It's concerning to me that the use of this line has turned into something of a competition between two different groups of divers ... because competition inherently results in people pushing things to greater limits, and in diving that sort of mentality will often lead to tragic consequences.
I understand the attraction ... but I don't think it's coincidence that there's already an access issue at the very place where that line begins. Maybe instead of looking at that as a bias you guys should look at it as a clue ... might just be the early warning of larger access issues to come, and give you some incentive to figuring out a way to head it off before it gets to that point ... because a larger access issue will affect a lot more than just the couple of small groups who put those lines in there and who enjoy using them.
Whatever you decide I wish you well ... because some of the people using that line are folks I think well of and consider friends, and I want you to be able to do the dives that make you happy. My purpose in posting is more to promote discussion and consideration than to take sides or to say that anybody's doing anything wrong. Just want to make that clear.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)