Just adding my no vote
I never have anything worth writing but I do love to read other peoples. As long as it doesnt hurt the structure, like deep carvings, I think it is fine.
NO WAY is it ok to leave your senseless message behind.
I guess it doesnt bother me to see it, and I dont do it. I dont feel it ruins anything and I like to read the comments as long as they are positive. I remember this cool shelter that could fit maybe 5 ppl somewhere in NC that had markings dating back to 1950. I just think its neat to read and look at and think of all the memories those places hold. For me it adds character.
People who deface shelters, trees, rocks, signs, and such along the trail are just plain iselfish. Most hikers are there to enjoy nature, not to see that kind of crap. What kind of sorry soul needs to pump up their egos by leaving graffiti? Showing consideration to your fellow hikers and to future hikes by leaving no trace and with kind and friendly interactions would be a greater legacy to leave from your hike.
I do always wonder if those people write on their dining/bedroom/bathroom walls at home. No, it's not o.k., and if I saw someone doing it, I'd have to call them on it.
having said that, I have a friend who bought a rambling 4-story house that had been an exclusive girls camp in the mountains. In the upstairs halls and dorm/bedrooms girls had written a virtual history of the camp. It was fascinating to read names, dates, nicknames, and rhymes for a period of 30 years. They had been invited to do so, however. . . And that makes the difference.
Not Ok. It wasn't ok in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and it's not Ok now.
Never ok....
Here's another NO vote
RIAP
28 not OK / 1 OK
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Last edited by wormer; 11-12-2013 at 09:24.
Wormer, your post adds nothing to the discussion and I hope it's removed.
"Chainsaw" GA-ME 2011
No.
Some argue there is a fine line between graffiti and art. I respectfully disagree when "art" is placed without permission on property that does not belong expressly to the "artist".
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning