Man & 3 mules roam California roads, raise issues of access and connectivity

A California man and his three mules have been roaming the roads and trails of western states for 29 years--and raising some interesting and sometimes thorny issues of the right to travel by human power.  The man, who goes by the name "Mule," has run-ins with police who are not very accustomed to find people--or mules--walking along local highways.  An article in The Atlantic talks about his lifestyle and the issues it raises: 

Mule and his mules

But this does not always go well for Mule. As he walked through Sacramento, a police officer told him, "This is not okay. Maybe in the gold rush days. But now we have cars." Police stop him constantly, which is a nuisance for Mule. He's not doing anything wrong, at least as he sees it. . . .

Mule's lawyer, Sharon Sherman, took on his case because she is fascinated by the legal questions that Mule's way of life raise. "There is always a balance between people's freedoms, and the needs of a community," she explained to me. "To me, this is another example of that. I've been in practice for 35 years, but Mule really made me stop and think about issues that I've never considered before. We have a countervailing balance between public space, private space, and what access do we really have to public space. Sure, I can walk down a street, but which street? What's the difference in using a road in a car, than with mules? Why do you have more rights in a car, than if you are walking, and walking with animals?" . . .

Mule is very popular amongst equestrians -- while researching this article, I found out that a writer with Mules and More Magazine is also writing about Mule. He has support from advocates of multi-use trails that connect communities, trails like the Iron Horse Trail in Contra Costa County in San Francisco's East Bay, a trail that allows people to safely get from town to town without using cars.

Mule's mode of travel and use of the public roads raises questions about the right to travel that are also of concern to bicyclists--and in fact his use of roads to travel long distances is in some ways similar to practices of long distance and cross-country touring cyclists.

Find out more about Mule and the issues he raises on his Facebook page and web site.

Photo: 3mules.com