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attroll
05-16-2004, 18:28
When you go hiking do you carry your trash out and other peoples trash too?

Ramble~On
05-16-2004, 18:40
Always.
And to everybody else who does I say......:clap

Kozmic Zian
05-16-2004, 19:55
;) Yea.....Trash! If I see it, and it's carryable, I'll take it to the next can I come to. I have this idea, that if the trashers don't see any(trash), they won't leave any....kinda' like monkey see, monkey do....if ya know where I'm comin' from. KZ@

weary
05-16-2004, 20:33
If you are into trails and preservation of trails, you do what has to be done. The most critical of these chores is to get rid of trash. Because trash produces trash. We all believe, philisophically at least, in LNT, and more importantly in, "Carry in. Carry out."

35 years or so ago I hiked Gulf Hagas with a newly elected president of MATC, a very distinguished Ivy League college professor. As we were leaving, we came upon a massive pile of trash left by illegal campers.

We all commiserated about the terrible litter and how we had to educate hikers. But as the rest of my party headed down the trail I did what I always do, i.e. I picked up all the trash and squeezed it into my now politically incorrect 7000 cubic inch pack.

That's been my politcally incorrect process for the decades since. It works. Three weeks ago I spent 8 minutes picking up a winter's worth of trash from one of our town's land trust trail head parking lots.

This afternoon I stopped by to post some fresh "No ATV" signs. Either no one had dumped trash after my clean up, or someone else had followed my practice. The lot was clean. I couldn't find a bit of litter.

My message is simple. Trash breeds trash. If you don't like trash at trail heads and shelters, clean it up. It takes just a minute or two and most hikers will keep a clean site clean. But once it gets littered, more litter will be added.


Weary

TedB
05-17-2004, 11:19
At first, I only carried out my own trash. If someone else wanted to trash the trail, they were going to have a trashed trail. Then one day I received some trail magic, in the form of a thru hiker who really put some effort into cleaning up a trashed shelter. That left an impact on me. I still didn't do much picking up of trash though. I think what finally convinced me happened after my hike. I wanted people to get outside and see the land and want to protect it. Yet I realized for many people, they won't be able to enjoy the beauty of the land if it is covered in trash, so I started picking up trash. I want everyone to enjoy the wild areas as much as I do.

Protecting the land is a labor of love, and it feels good to leave a place a little better than when you found it.

Jaybird
06-22-2004, 09:12
i carry out my own & every other wrapper, beer can, etc.,etc...i can carry in my trash bag i carry in my backpack...til the next trashcan makes its appearance @ a road crossing (or town).

i wish everyone did. :D

Rain Man
06-22-2004, 10:31
Protecting the land is a labor of love, and it feels good to leave a place a little better than when you found it.

Well said, Ted! I like that thought, that picking up litter and cleaning shelters is a labor of love.
:clap
Rain Man

.

Lone Wolf
06-22-2004, 10:46
I'll pick up a stray wrapper on the trail but I won't pack out trash at shelters.

food
06-22-2004, 11:02
I have accidentially left trash in the backcountry. On my last hike I lost my GatorAid bottle cap. To compensate I carry anything that will fit in my trash bag to the next trash can.

Remember there are different rules for archaeological sites.

fiddlehead
06-02-2005, 21:28
my random thoughts on the subject:

"No matter how hard you try, tin foil will not burn!" Rainman

I carry out trash but not as much as i can carry. (should i feel guilty for saying that?)
Shelter's tend to accumulate trash. Especially the fireplace! We know it's usually not the thru-hikers leaving it, but the trail becomes our home and we want to keep it clean. Education is the key here i think. The fireplace is not the trash can, the trash can is either back at the trailhead, or at home!
The occasional litter you find on the trail itself is usually something that dropped out of someones pack. I think most hikers would pick that up.
Where would folks put their trash if there were no shelters?

superman
06-02-2005, 21:53
Yes. I take out the trash at home and when I hike I take out the trash. Winter has been know to have a full pack of other peoples trash. Pat from Maine also hauls out trail trash. It's just something we do.

TOW
06-02-2005, 22:03
if it's burnable, then that's what i do. i only pack out trash that is non burnable and i will take any cans that have drink or foodstuff left in them and throw them in the fire, then carry the burned out containers with me. that is if the place is real trashy and noticeable. i'm definetly not going to pack out a whole bunch of crap to add to my weight, because i am a heavy packer as is. i usually carry a backpack in the weight range of 45-70 lbs in the fall, winter or early spring and 35-50 in the summer......

The Hog
06-03-2005, 07:41
I always carry out slightly more trash than I carry in. If everyone did this, there wouldn't be a litter problem.

While I was thru hiking, I came upon a huge mess at Cable Gap Shelter. There was lots of whining by other thrus about what an awful trashy place it was. But nobody did anything. Lots of whining, but no action. I lambasted the lazy thrus in the register and carried as much of the junk out as I could.

You don't have to be a hero. Just pledge to yourself that you'll carry out a little more than you carry in...

SGT Rock
06-03-2005, 08:13
Amen brother. I my youngest loves to help get the trash up. It's sort of a point of pride for him now. Teach them while they are young!

Nean
06-03-2005, 08:14
As a one man trail crew, I'd like to think I have the record for most trash, rocks, limbs, trees, water taken off the trail. Hey, we should all be proud of something, no? Anywho, that's why I consider myself a Travelin Avery. WOW,13 responses in over a year on this thread- kinda says it all.

Just Jeff
06-03-2005, 08:16
I always pick up stuff along the way. How much depends on the hike...if I'm on day one of a 5 day hike, I'm not picking up much stuff. When my pack is less full, or if I know trash cans are nearby, I'm apt to carry more.

Around here there are no trash cans in state parks, but I've noticed that if I pull out a trash bag as I'm talking to the ranger and politely explain that half of it is other people's trash, he'll let me use his can. Never been turned down that way...We both win.

Nean
06-03-2005, 08:22
Make that 14, Sgt. Rock can type faster than I! Sounds like you have a future record holder there Sgt.R, I'd be as proud as he is. :)

Fiddleback
06-03-2005, 08:37
I carry out trash...nothing heavy and bulky, but most of what I find.

One trip last year I was setting up camp and a glint caught my eye. Someone had crushed six beer cans and hidden them under a rock!! They carried the full weight and bulk in but they couldn't carry the little bit of aluminum out!!! I was PO'd:mad: Then, when hiking out, I missed a turnoff and ended up on a horse pack trail for a while...a trail for riders and packers to use to get into the Bob Marshall. One of the first things that tipped me off that I had left 'my' trail was the amount of trash. Candy wrappers and empty water bottles every hundred yards! That helped my mood tremendously:datz

I lost a lot of respect for riders that day, and let my Lady, an avid horsewoman, know it. Then the mood got dark at my house too. :(

Fiddleback

SGT Rock
06-03-2005, 08:43
Make that 14, Sgt. Rock can type faster than I! Sounds like you have a future record holder there Sgt.R, I'd be as proud as he is. :)
Nean, we are heading out to the BMT today to recon a section of the trail the family is going to adopt. I plan to raise my boys to learn that being a hiker is more than just hiking the trails. Starting this month we will have the Rock Family Trail Crew working on trail and I hope to get them both to Hardcore next year.:cool:

BTW - plug for more than just picking up trash. If any of you ever get a chance (and there are plenty of them out there) volunteer to work on a trail crew. You will have lots of fun and get to make something lasting contributions. Everyone I have ever been on a trail crew with has found the experience a lot more fun than they would have thought. Hardcore is getting people addicted to it.:D

neo
06-03-2005, 09:07
yes,i carry my own out,and any trash i see in camp or along the trail,litter bugs piss me off:cool: neo

weary
06-03-2005, 09:15
yes,i carry my own out,and any trash i see in camp or along the trail,litter bugs piss me off:cool: neo
Being a Liberal, I'm opposed to the death penalty. Well, for all offenses except littering!

Weary

SGT Rock
06-03-2005, 10:05
Death by ingesting aluminum foil? :datz

Ridge
06-03-2005, 12:21
My husband ridgeruns several areas on the AT and some of the USFS trails. His biggest complaint is the firepits stuffed with every imaginable thing. The shelters with pamplets/trash are also a problem. Fishing line around water foul areas are a death trap for them, he tries to police these areas as much as he can. Parking areas are sometimes picked up by locals. The lack of respect people have is really hard to digest, I wish folks would do better.

Nean
06-03-2005, 12:41
SGT Rock, Man- that is GREAT! And I'm sure your experiences will run far deeper than the trail :sun I've worked on a few crews- loved it, and maintain a section, Hurricane Gap to Spring Mt. There are so many more aspects of the trails than walking and it has always been a honor to enjoy the work of so many others.

fiddlehead
06-11-2005, 00:20
As a one man trail crew, I'd like to think I have the record for most trash, rocks, limbs, trees, water taken off the trail. Hey, we should all be proud of something, no? Anywho, that's why I consider myself a Travelin Avery. WOW,13 responses in over a year on this thread- kinda says it all.
One of my first impressions of mine about Nean after finally meeting and hiking with him was that he could maintain that 4 mph pace yet consistantly kick every twig, branch, loose rock, off of the trail without seemingly missing a step or tempo.

Mountain Hippie
06-11-2005, 00:44
It is not unusual to see me with a trash bag full of other peoples trash attached to the outside of my pack when I exit a trailhead.

A-Train
06-13-2005, 15:46
I pulled out two 13-gallon kitched bags of trash from the Mashipacong Privy this morning. Gross

Jersey Devil
06-13-2005, 15:55
In my stomping grounds in South Jersey there is a particular beautiful vista of the PineLand's where I grew up and still live. It is known as Apple Pie Hill. The problem is in the sand roads that lead up to it. People go up there and make HUGE messes.:mad: :mad: There is also a fire tower that the extremely ignorant launch objects off of. I have reported this to the local rangers, and even went so far as to place a trash can up there, which I hiked in.:( Not soon after I found the trash can at the base of the hill, with trash strewn about. Don't actually know what I am getting at, I guess I am saying most people are savages with little repsect of the scenic places they like to take advantage of.:datz

BigToe
06-13-2005, 16:31
I was brought up, and have brought my boys (and boy scouts) up, to pick up at least one extra piece of litter on every hike, even in our local woods. We will pick up bigger amounts on occasion, but if everyone had the habit of picking up even one extra piece, the trails would get cleaned up in a hurry.

BlackCloud
06-14-2005, 14:19
Sorry, but I'm a germ-a-phobe. The wilderness is dirty, & that's cool; but people are filthy, & I just can't do it.:datz

Scribe
06-14-2005, 19:23
I packed a bit out, but I was quite gratified that there wasn't very much. The only really ugly stuff I saw was fairly close to highways or trailheads. It was my observation that AT hikers are too concerned about weight to carry much litter.

weary
06-14-2005, 22:29
Sorry, but I'm a germ-a-phobe. The wilderness is dirty, & that's cool; but people are filthy, & I just can't do it.:datz
Sadly, that's a common view. But someone has to do it or the trails soon would be just beds of trash, that neither you nor anyone else would walk on with any sense of pleasure.

The AT and numerous other trails are essentially maintained by volunteers and the trash removed by volunteers. The system depends on people volunteering to do unpleasant things.

Weary

Bolivershagnasty
06-14-2005, 23:03
Wanderer? how the heck can you have a 70lb pack these days? Good lord man what are you carrying a 13 inch tv and a mini bar?..LOL..I''m a UL guy but I carry more than I need and only have maybe a 30lb pack with overflow...I've got a Osprey aether 75 med which is WAY TOO big really. I'm looking to trade for aether 60 I think or buy one next yr. I like the Atmos too for a summer pack from what I can see. But geez how can you have 70 lbs of stuff these days? Maybe 40 but 50-70?,,:datz

SGT Rock
06-20-2005, 20:05
Three weeks ago I pulled 5 pounds of trash from fire rings in my section of the BMT. Nasty stuff, and the BMT isn't hardly used as much as the AT.

justusryans
06-20-2005, 21:29
I live in NE north carolina and i must say that while we don't have many trails in the area, i rarely find trash on the trails. most of what i find {and pack out} is debris from overnighters in established camp sites. When will these people realise cans don't burn! if they were any more stupid they would have to be watered twice a week. some drink from the fountain of knowledge... they only gargled!!! :-?

Deerleg
06-20-2005, 21:34
It's sort of a point of pride for him now. Teach them while they are young!I'v tried to teach my 2 boys the same (there 15 and 18 now) and they do quite well at it, for me though its more like a compulsion:jump .

D'Artagnan
06-21-2005, 11:46
It has become almost obsessive compulsive behavior for me to pick up any litter I see in the woods. The problem is not as pervasive on the AT as it is in other areas where day hikes are more commonplace. I believe true backpackers by and large are more respectful of the trail and do all they can to preserve it.

The areas I have seen the most litter are in State parks where folks drive, park, walk for 30 minutes, return to their car, and leave. It really gripes my arse to see trails strewn with soda cans and cigarette butts. Thank goodness there are those out there who are willing to do the right thing and clean up after all the lazy slobs.