In addition to the state of disrepair of the trails we have been hiking, another consistent problem wee see out in the woods is the trash left behind by visitors.
This is something that I just cannot comprehend. I’ve always been taught that you must pack out whatever you pack in to the woods.
So we’re packing out others’ trash. (And I guess these folks assume that someone else will pick up after them.)
We are hauling out beer cans from swimming holes…
Some people also seem to enjoy drinking a beer while hiking. And hen just chuck the empty out onto the trail. WTF?
People seem to go out to the woods, find a picnic table to eat their lunch, and just leave all their leftovers behind.
People seem to think that there is some magical trash man who picks up the trash if you leave it in a pile for him by the bathroom.
There isn’t any magical trash man. These outhouses take very little maintenance, and there aren’t janitors or maids who clean them out daily or weekly. There isn’t garbage service in the wilderness.
It’s up to all of us to keep the bathrooms clean, just as it is to maintain the rest of the forest and rivers. Nobody is going to clean up after you out here. We must clean up after ourselves and carry out everything we carry in.
There are many things about our society I do not like, and most of these I will just shrug off. But not leaving trash out in the woods. I haul out a grocery bag or two of trash each place we go – sometimes more. Our forests are shrinking all the time because of expanding populations, fire, and deforestation. Let’s not ruin them by using them as dumping grounds.
Please haul your trash out of the woods!!
