The locals know something about the droves of tourists and transplants in the West ... they drive huge demand for entertaining events and go where the 'gram is. The damage done is unreal.
Thank you for writing this (and all of your other essays so far). I was recently treated to a half hour delay for event traffic while trying to get over to Zirkel where I was greeted at the trailhead (i.e. parking lot) with about a half roll of used TP scattered around and exactly zero birdsong or any other sign of non-human habitation along the trail. The struggle is real and I think you're right that it's going to get worse before it gets better.
I hear you -- It's strange to see the widespread changes and the reasons for the changes. There appears to be dissonance between the TP'ers reasons for coming to these spaces and their actions. I think it's vastly harder for those of us who have grown up in these spaces and knowing what's being lost, and what that loss is an exchange for. I'm glad to know there are other people who can relate and who can help speak to the need for ethics in the outdoors. If we all lived by leave no trace / erase your trace ethics, we could all celebrate outdoor spaces as the ultimate commons rather than the tragedy it has become.
As an eastern Utahn, I appreciate the thought you put into your writing, and thank you for your efforts to reign in the rampant nonsense that’s taking place in our states.
We have our own problems here, like the state legislature giving free rein to OHVs, but the overcrowding and the cosplaying certainly don’t help. I wish a lot of these folks would “send it” back to Washington, The East coast, California, Texas, and (sorry) the front range.
Oh yeah, I get it -- and no apologies needed -- the Front Range isn't even the Front Range anymore. The population doubling that has occurred has drowned out and diluted the local culture here that was once quite compatible with our neighbors, all the same offenders you note here. I get it and completely agree with your sentiments.
It's a wicked problem, across the board. My unfortunate takeaway is that we're at the start of it, not some imagined peak or end.
Like this?
https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/71268i/my_parents_are_touring_china_and_spotted_this/#lightbox
Thank you for writing this (and all of your other essays so far). I was recently treated to a half hour delay for event traffic while trying to get over to Zirkel where I was greeted at the trailhead (i.e. parking lot) with about a half roll of used TP scattered around and exactly zero birdsong or any other sign of non-human habitation along the trail. The struggle is real and I think you're right that it's going to get worse before it gets better.
I hear you -- It's strange to see the widespread changes and the reasons for the changes. There appears to be dissonance between the TP'ers reasons for coming to these spaces and their actions. I think it's vastly harder for those of us who have grown up in these spaces and knowing what's being lost, and what that loss is an exchange for. I'm glad to know there are other people who can relate and who can help speak to the need for ethics in the outdoors. If we all lived by leave no trace / erase your trace ethics, we could all celebrate outdoor spaces as the ultimate commons rather than the tragedy it has become.
As an eastern Utahn, I appreciate the thought you put into your writing, and thank you for your efforts to reign in the rampant nonsense that’s taking place in our states.
We have our own problems here, like the state legislature giving free rein to OHVs, but the overcrowding and the cosplaying certainly don’t help. I wish a lot of these folks would “send it” back to Washington, The East coast, California, Texas, and (sorry) the front range.
Oh yeah, I get it -- and no apologies needed -- the Front Range isn't even the Front Range anymore. The population doubling that has occurred has drowned out and diluted the local culture here that was once quite compatible with our neighbors, all the same offenders you note here. I get it and completely agree with your sentiments.
It's a wicked problem, across the board. My unfortunate takeaway is that we're at the start of it, not some imagined peak or end.