View Full Version : Trash Removal Etiquette?
So I was hiking on the AT from Rockfish Gap to Priest Mountain this weekend and came across the following trash on the trail:
1 cowboy hat, black
1 pen
candy wraper's
4 shirts, 3 pairs of boxers, 1 pair of shorts, 1 sleeping bag, socks
The last items where all grouped together, right near the top of 3 ridges. I managed to carry everything out except the sleeping bag (everything was waterlogged and pretty heavy, carried as much as I could). I tossed everything out once I got back to my house.
I keep wondering tho, did someone leave that stuff intending to go back for it? I assume they either accidentally dropped it or figured it was too heavy to carry up 3 ridges and just left it (!?!). Is there a consensus on what to do with trash like that? Like just throw it in the trash or leave at the trailhead for people to pick up?
I hate to see trash on the trail, but I don't like the idea of throwing away other peoples stuff.
You did the right thing - packed out as much of others' trash as you could. I always bring a trash bag and carry out what I find, but I'd probably draw the line at a soggy sleeping bag if I was out hiking. When I'm actually on the trail for maintenance work, I carry out anything.
Dances with Mice
09-13-2009, 19:48
Thanks.
If someone wanted to cache something and return for it later, they would have hidden it.
Skidsteer
09-13-2009, 20:13
What size is the cowboy hat?
Just a Hiker
09-13-2009, 20:15
The stuff you found isn't uncommon on the trail. The clothes you found had more than likely gotten wet and the owner didn't want to hike with the stuff, so they just left it. Many people who casually use the AT don't know much about LNT.
vonfrick
09-13-2009, 20:59
What size is the cowboy hat?
he said "hat", not "helmet"
saimyoji
09-13-2009, 21:01
he said "hat", not "helmet"
just spray his shoes and he'll be happy.
Skidsteer
09-13-2009, 21:13
he said "hat", not "helmet"
Oh.
My bad.
Sounds like a load to carry. If it were not for folks, like you, that carry out the trash for others our forest trails would likely look like a dump. I have always noted that I can tell when I am near a trail head by the increased amount of trash. Close to a parking area = more trash.
I just wish that glass in the backcountry would be outlawed - with serious consequences. Seeing broken glass, or even melted glass, chaps my hide.
Thanks for your efforts.
bigmac_in
09-14-2009, 11:58
What size is the cowboy hat?
just spray his shoes and he'll be happy.
Now - that right there is FUNNY. :D
Gray Blazer
09-14-2009, 12:06
Speaking of trash removal.....good job, moderator.
If it's an item that was obviously lost, not just thrown out, I sometimes leave it by the trail head so when that person comes back they will find it. For example I found a nalgene bottle with stickers all over it from various places that the person had hiked, I figured they didn't mean to lose it so I left it on the registration kiosk. Otherwise I throw stuff out unless it has value to me. A couple of months ago I found two bic lighters and a folding saw that are now mine. I don't think they were intentionally left, but they were next to a fire pit with a broken vodka bottle in it, so they forefeited their their saw.
LyttleBryan
09-15-2009, 10:49
This reminds me of the time I saw underwear in a tree.
I didn't retrieve it.
Trailweaver
09-15-2009, 11:06
I also hiked out with a variety of trash items this weekend. I had to leave a large gas canister behind because I simply couldn't get it loaded on my pack and it was at the beginning of my hike. Hope someone else will get it later. . . wish day hikers would think about taking out trash more. It seems to me that I see many hikers with full packs hiking out the trash. This was at Tesnatee to Unocoi Gaps.