[pct-l] Hiker Trash

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

On Jun 5, 2011, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> On 6/5/2011 8:13 AM, Charles Doersch wrote:
>> We're also planning on the thru-hike in 2012 ~ and I guess I'm just
>> baffled by the reported incidents of trashing.
>
> <snip>
>
>> Is there a subset of PCT-hikers who are likely to do this?
>
> Two comments:
>
> First, yes, it seems that there is a small number of thru hikers and
> section hikers who are irresponsible, and will trash the trail.

I don't think it's even that small. I section hiked over the San  
Jacintos last weekend and followed a trail of blue, yellow and orange  
electronic wires. I thought okay, maybe these wires are being  
discarded by the hoards of dayhikers or boy scouts or whatever that  
come up Devil's Slide or the Tram, but no, the wires continued all  
the way down to the faucet and beyond. Who hikes that section of the  
desert but committed PCT thru or section hikers? And why would  
someone keep cutting of pieces of wire and leaving it on the trail  
anyway? It was baffling.

At the faucet there was some trash under the rock.

Two weekends before my San Jacinto trip I hiked from Big Bear to  
Cajon Pass area and picked up wrappers and other trash all along the  
way. Forget road crossings, the trash was in the wilderness areas. I  
picked up a fresh wrapper right in front of a hiker just standing  
there next to Holcomb creek. Was it his wrapper? I don't know, but I  
made a big deal about picking it up. I camped at a spot with a piece  
of polyurethane foam in the trail and hikers were walking back and  
forth from their camp spot to a creek, stepping right on the foam. I  
picked it up. It fit in my pocket.

Many hikers, even if they aren't leaving the trash, are not bothering  
themselves to pick any of it up. And they are not bothering to leave  
places nicer than they found them. A lot of the hikers I met have a  
sort of "we're so awesome, our adventure is so extreme" attitude.  
Only a few seem to have a grateful attitude toward the wilderness.  
Maybe that comes after the High Sierra?