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I was hiking south mountain today and came across 3 bags of dog manure laying beside the trail. 2 of them were in the same spot!!!

WHAT ARE THESE PEOPLE THINKING???? Do they actually think a garbage truck trundles up the trails to pick up their little bags of goodies??? Are they actually stupid enough to read the sign literally and think that just "picking up after your dog" is good enough? That they dont actually have to pack it back out???

Do they realize they are making the problem worse not better???? GAAAHHHH!!!!

I will pack out peoples junk usually, but I am just not willing to carry someone elses dog crap while I am hiking for 6 more miles!!!

Oh, and another bit of destruction was the nicely painted aluminum trail signs marking the crossing of the national trail and the mormon loop. Some hippy bent and broke it off and left it sitting there. They tried to do it to another but just managed to bend the sign and crack the paint off in the bend.

I had a good hike and enjoyed the minor bouldering along the hidden valley trail and through the tunnel. I had never gone through there before, but the other crap I saw sure damaged my enjoyment of those trails. I am going to try flatiron tomorrow and am sick to my stomach thinking about seeing this spray-painting other's have mentioned just happened there.

ellehcim wrote:WHAT ARE THESE PEOPLE THINKING????

Funny you should ask.

Here is a direct quote from the thoughts of one of these jerkoffs:
"duh,...dum de dum dum do... uh, huh huh huh,... duh..."

You, my friend, are well on your way to becoming a scruffy gun-toting type.

When you're hiking you can find lots of sign. Sometimes it's coyote, bear, or quail. What you happened upon was moron sign. From the evidence I've seen, this area has a pretty high population. Morons go into the wilderness to enjoy and despoil it. If you confronted one you'd either get an angry response or a blank stare. That stare is not faked, there really is nobody home. Morons go through life leaving a well marked trail of orange peels, water bottles, beer cans, cigarette butts, shopping carts, candy wrappers, etc. At least those folks bagged the waste, most don't even do that.

azhiker96 wrote: At least those folks bagged the waste, most don't even do that.

Trouble is, that bagged waste isn't going to decompose :roll:

Trouble is, that bagged waste isn't going to decompose

True, but then at South mountain the unbagged waste doesn't get to decompose either. With the quantities of fresh waste I've seen when I've hiked there I'm sure the rangers get to clean up the trail occasionally. Otherwise we'd need knee waders to hike the first couple of miles.

Too bad things like modern medicine, safety devices on machinery, guard rails and warning labels has eliminated Darwin's theory in just about all non alcohol related cases.

If not for all these safety devices technology has given us, people with genes faulty enough to do things like bag dog poo and drop it on the trail or spray paint on the top of mountains would have removed themselves from the gene pool long ago and would now be extinct.

Now because of safety devices and warning labels people that per Darwin, should be removing themselves from the gene pool, walk the earth and breed instead. Thus spreading those faulty genes.

Daryl wrote:
Now because of safety devices and warning labels people that per Darwin, should be removing themselves from the gene pool, walk the earth and breed instead. Thus spreading those faulty genes.

A process for which we more Darwinesque consumers and taxpayers foot the bill.

One time on a GC rim-to-rim packing trip, we were going down the north side and I saw a Forest Service sign threatening fines for vandalism. Scratched onto the sign was someone else's threat to beat the tar out of anyone they caught defacing anything.

Anyone else see anything ironic there?

Wiz wrote:

Daryl wrote:
Now because of safety devices and warning labels people that per Darwin, should be removing themselves from the gene pool, walk the earth and breed instead. Thus spreading those faulty genes.

A process for which we more Darwinesque consumers and taxpayers foot the bill.

One time on a GC rim-to-rim packing trip, we were going down the north side and I saw a Forest Service sign threatening fines for vandalism. Scratched onto the sign was someone else's threat to beat the tar out of anyone they caught defacing anything.

Anyone else see anything ironic there?

I am not sure wether that is ironic or moronic

The problem is more widespread than you think...

I go caving a couple times a year and the problem is worse there than on any trail that I have seen. Down near Oracle, AZ, there is a cave called Peppersauce and it has thousands and thousands of people come into the cave. Sadly, there are many people that feel the need to empty their spray paint cans on the cave walls or to bring in a plastic bag and do some huffing. What a trip!

The grottos, cave conservation groups, and the NSS are both active at caves like these cleaning them up. In the case of caves it involves bringind out sandblasters with a mile of hose along with wire brushes. I personally dont have access to this equipment so I just pack the trash out when I find it.

ellehcim, and anyone else that is packing the trash out, that is all we can really do. Unless like also stated, we all carry guns. But even that probably wouldnt work. The hoodlums seem to come out at night and vandalize instead of coming out in the day where somoene could ever get them.

inluvwac wrote: ellehcim, and anyone else that is packing the trash out, that is all we can really do. Unless like also stated, we all carry guns. But even that probably wouldnt work. The hoodlums seem to come out at night and vandalize instead of coming out in the day where somoene could ever get them.

Well, I would never advocate shooting these people. Beating them about the head and body with a stick wouldnt be against my advice though... I am just wondering if people are actually arrogant or stupid enough to think that the park service means for them to bag the poop and leave it for other people to pick up, you know? Kinda like at disneyland where you have trash cans all over the park...

This type of behavier is really sad. I am ashamed to say that when ever I am in the mountains with my own dad...I feel like a freaking janitor. Thats right picking up pop cans, plastic, and even his smelly cigarette butts. sick what my own blood does!!!

I've seen the same thing at South Mountain - bags of dog waste beside the trail.

However, I have also seen owners pick it up on their way back down to their vehicles.

So before you jump to conclusions that all hikers with dogs are evil....

but the other crap I saw sure damaged my enjoyment of those trails. I am going to try flatiron tomorrow and am sick to my stomach thinking about seeing this spray-painting other's have mentioned just happened there.

Agreed, mostly. That's pretty frickin crazy though man. Can't say that looking at someone elses crap really damaged my enjoyment of my hike though. Not too sure I've really gotten sick to my stomach just thinking about "spray-painting" destruction either. Far out man... :roll:

MY RANT!!!

My neighborhood borders state trust land. Every weekend there are several people out there on ATC/ATVs. There are signs all over that say you need a permit to be out there and you have to stay on existing road. However, it's difficult to find an area within there that has not been tore up by tire tracks. I've heard the state is going to close the land to motor vehicle use because of this. I can't wait to here the ATC/ATV crowd cry about this.

People also seem to think this area is more convienent then the dump and a fun place to smash beer bottles. Refridgerators, sofas, cars... Parts of this area now look more like a junkyard. The saddest part is Hawk's Rock. It's a small out cropping of rocks on this land. It would be great for bouldering and beginning rock climbing or rappeling, but the rocks are covered with spray paint and glass. It's sad.