Leave it better than you found it.

RussellK · Post by **RussellK** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:46 am

This weekend we made a day trip to scope a couple of forest service campgrounds we thought we might use as a base for a hub and spoke trek. We looked at two established sites, one monitored the other not and a poached site. What we found was disturbing and disgusting. Litter in the campsites, garbage overflowing from cans that are supposed to be bearproof, feces smeared in the bathrooms, multiple scars from campfires. We went down to a nearby stream and it was the same, strewn with litter and multiple scars. Forget it we'll camp on the trail by ourselves.

The cleanest campers I've been with were in Minnesota up near the Boundary Waters. They literally wiped out the sink when done so it was nice for the next camper. What a delight and an example for the rest of us.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:48 am

It gets pretty bad out here too....
Humans just don't think of the consequences of our actions. Why is that? There is more than "me".
Well it's a good feeling hauling all that crap out of the woods.

Manfred · Post by **Manfred** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:53 am

RussellK wrote:This weekend we made a day trip to scope a couple of forest service campgrounds we thought we might use as a base for a hub and spoke trek. We looked at two established sites, one monitored the other not and a poached site. What we found was disturbing and disgusting. Litter in the campsites, garbage overflowing from cans that are supposed to be bearproof, feces smeared in the bathrooms, multiple scars from campfires. We went down to a nearby stream and it was the same, strewn with litter and multiple scars. Forget it we'll camp on the trail by ourselves.

The cleanest campers I've been with were in Minnesota up near the Boundary Waters. They literally wiped out the sink when done so it was nice for the next camper. What a delight and an example for the rest of us.

I hear you. I don't understand why people want to make the place worse than when they found it. People take no ownership of anything unless their name is on a piece of paper. I live near a lot of parks by the lake front. The summer is the worse. People are picnicking from 10 am till the park closes and leave trash every where. I've spent my entire morning cleaning up the beach at the end of my street from the prior evening activities. There are garbage can every where and people won't even make the effort to throw it in the cans.

It could be worse. A friend of mine told me in Paris no one cleans up after thier dogs. There are piles on the sidewalks everywhere.

chitwnvw · Post by **chitwnvw** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 2:15 pm

People just don't care. That's all I can come up with. Living across from the metra tracks, where people dump bottles, condoms, hypodermic needles, lots of fast food bags, fluorescent lights, whatever. Out of sight out of mind. I wonder if it is somehow empowering to people that feel they have no power. I will leave this here and make someone else clean up after me. I saw a documentary about Walmart and it seems people like to make a mess there and have others clean up their mess. It's the only time they get to feel that.

I don't know...

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 2:45 pm

You have to learn to be aware enough to care. It's just the way it is, some folks are pretty disconnected from basic reality. But here we are amongst the masses.

dhoch14 · Post by **dhoch14** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 3:42 pm

Apples Apples & Apples!!!

While backpacking last weekend, the previous attendees of our campsite not only were building fires (no-no in fire season), but they left APPLECORES everywhere.

the dogs enjoyed them....... :)

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 4:39 pm

What the heck is an APPLEWHORE?!!?!!

IFBwax · Post by **IFBwax** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 5:12 pm

I've personally been camping with Hambone. He made a point of bringing extra huge garbage bags for everyone and we all gathered up tons of cans and crap and garbage from some ass@oles before us. When we left, the camping spot looked nice. I try to do the same when I'm with my family.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Wed Jan 20, 2010 9:29 pm

yeah that's really important to do...thanking the Earth.
Well I guess it gives me something to do. I can't sit still. Eva is the same way, it's funny.

twinfalls · Post by **twinfalls** » Wed Jan 27, 2010 6:20 am

Manfred wrote: It could be worse. A friend of mine told me in Paris no one cleans up after thier dogs. There are piles on the sidewalks everywhere.

Sad, but true. Many places are like that; Not all. My neigbourhood is clean.
But I just saw this morning a wild dump of broken furnitures on a sidewalk.
This occurs sometimes. I guess vandals who like messing clean areas.
There is no excuse, the garbage service for this is every month.

vdubzen · Post by **vdubzen** » Wed Jan 27, 2010 4:41 pm

one reason i became a tread lightly trainer.

always leave the area better than you found it. we are so lucky here in new mexico. lots of blm land and national forest to go exploring in.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Wed Jan 27, 2010 8:56 pm

Hey, would you mind posting some photos of some of your adventures?

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:27 am

I guess you would!

At my recent camp, there was tons of trash, everywhere a road went. Trash on the sides, down the gully behind the roads...old party fires where the snow level ended, burned debris piles right in the middle of the road, scorched tar. 1000000 beer cans, glass oh so much glass.
This is on the roads closest to town. A direct corridor of crap, city to the forest. Un %$#@$)# believeable. Of course the area is gorgeous otherwise.

What can be done when generations think the woods is their dump? I cleaned up my camp (about 100 lbs of trash), but the drive home was a drag. Well I guess when they see ripped up roads and forests, clearcuts and burned slash piles, they figure it's already a mess and it's OK to continue. 1 piece of trash is always a magnet for more.

There is SOLV in Oregon. Anyone interested in cleaning up trash? We can be the IAC Cleanup Crew.

http://www.solv.org/programs/project_oregon.asp

grandfatherjim · Post by **grandfatherjim** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 1:13 pm

Maybe they should rework the bill of rights, and call it the Bill of Responsibilities.
Hmmm, how would all the law suits work then?

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Mon Feb 22, 2010 1:23 pm

Funny how such a small segment of the population can cause so much grief for the rest of us trying to do good.

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Leave it better than you found it.

Leave it better than you found it.

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