If viewed in a purely cynical light and based solely upon economics, no one would ever do anything charitable. Bob R. is right, the psychic value is the big driver, and the more of that the better. I live in a world of economics and cynicism and the less of that coming my way, the happier I am.
I marvel at those who would spent time and treasure, year-after-year, to travel all over and do these trail projects ...giving up vacation time and money. More admirable might be the patience and forbearance of the spouses. Maybe some of those folks would do SAR work if they were closer to the mountains, or if they had the abilities to do so. Whatever their motivations, it is something to be celebrated and not cavalierly dismissed, or conveniently rationalized.
The AHS is OK -- I red-lined the Sierra Club membership because it was a bit too granola for me, too big and too disparate. Overall, I like the communications that come from AHS, what they do in Washington, and their focus. The list of stuff I'm supposed to believe is much less with AHS than the Sierra Club. Like Bob said, everyone makes their own decisions on these things. But for what it's worth, I think AHS is a worthy operation and I'm glad Ken had some good things to say about them, too.
Smaller, local groups like Steve's and Friends of the Inyo would probably be better still, so I'm hoping the momentum keeps building there. In that regard, some of the best advice is RoguePhotonic's comment, above. You want quality people on these outings - that's what makes it work.
