Am I the jerk?

[Dogwood]

Hey,I know those guys!My brother and I rode all night on a commercial overseas flight with them and they never shut up.Apparently,they get around.......

It's obvious OP was taken off guard by the initial request.I'm glad this incident was shared on WB so anyone else will be ready if queried by the trash and poop police.

Ear plugs. Christmas gift for your bro. Buy. Tell him to make then a basic in his traveling kit.

[blw2]

I guess I am not a trusting person. I would have been worried about being robbed down the trail primarily. I also don't allow strangers to look thru my stuff. Maybe it is because I am old. Guess that makes me a jerk also. I don't think I would feel like apologizing for anyone without a badge doing what they did.

my sentiments exactly. I prob would have been cordial enough to give them a couple minutes of casual conversation while standing at the "edge" of my campsite.... like the front porch of my house.... a couple questions and answers
but questions get too deep, or personal, or just too many (inconsiderate of my time)...I would have it it off just like you did.
...and don't even think about digging through my stuff.

[BuckeyeBill]

So, a couple of weeks ago, I was at Dolly Sods Wilderness. As I was breaking camp on my first morning, I noticed a couple in their early twenties approaching my campsite. I'll admit, I wasn't paying much attention, but I'm pretty sure they told me that they were volunteering for the Forest Service and they were educating hikers about Leave No Trace, though they showed me no credentials. They asked if they could check out my campsite. I said that's fine, but I'm trying to get packed up before the rain hits. So they followed me back to my campsite and started snooping around. Then they started to ask me about packing out my trash and digging cat holes. Then she asked me if I carry a shovel to bury my poop. I told her no, that I used my hiking pole. By this time, I am thoroughly annoyed, so I asked her if she was the poop police. Failing to grasp my sarcasm, she then explains, again, that she is volunteering to spread the word about LNT. At this point I was pissed so I stopped packing and just stared at them. The guy then commented that he liked my tarp set up, dug around in my fire pit with a stick, told me that my campsite was exceptionally clean, and proclaimed that I appeared to know what I was doing. Apparently my demeanor caused them to move on and they then found a group of five or six hikers that they talked to for over twenty minutes.

So, did they overstep their bounds, or am I the jerk for getting annoyed by this?

Three words would have solved this situation, "Yes, me too". Then get back to packing up.

[sketcher709]

Several years ago, I had a similar experience in New Hampshire. A young woman was trying to educate us (my wife and I) on everything in the vicinity of her tenting area. She drove us nuts. I think it goes back to the old idea that, "it's not what you say but how you say it."

The content of her comments were quite reasonable but the way she delivered them made us feel that we were being scolded every time she opened her mouth. We couldn't pack up soon enough the following morning.

Was her name MaryEllen?

[Dogwood]

was her name maryellen?

lol.....:d

[Pony]

Wow, I didn't realize this was still going on. Ha ha.

So... yeah, I probably could have handled it better.

And yeah, they probably could have done it different.

I take a hike every fall to clear all the cobwebs. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Mostly, I just want to be left alone. So.... perhaps I am just annoyed with people. Hahaha. But that doesn't mean they're right. Doesn't mean I'm right either.
But now I know that NO is the appropriate response.

[Pony]

Just so everyone knows, I keep a clean camp. And I've hiked enough to know how to bury my poop. And I've never left anything in the woods intentionally. One time I forgot a spork though by accident.

So, I think I may have taken it a little personal that my camp was suspect, since I take pride in keeping a clean camp.

[Dogwood]

Wow, I didn't realize this was still going on. Ha ha.

So... yeah, I probably could have handled it better.

And yeah, they probably could have done it different.

I take a hike every fall to clear all the cobwebs. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Mostly, I just want to be left alone. So.... perhaps I am just annoyed with people. Hahaha. But that doesn't mean they're right. Doesn't mean I'm right either.
But now I know that NO is the appropriate response.

And that my WB User friend shows maturity, consideration, and character. You got past the prevailing schismatic right wrong dichotomy mindset.

[Speakeasy TN]

I'd have to agree that they were ok on their end because they asked if they could look around. Kind of like a gear shakedown. If they didn't improve your knowledge, hike on without being OR feeling like a jerk. We've all been to sites where we wished there had been poop police. LNT is more important, on the whole, than you feeling bruised after you told them they could look around.

[Tipi Walter]

Those West Virginia LNT surveillance cops you encountered are pestering the wrong people---how could they have missed this major violation of the Leave No Trace policy???

[Time Zone]

Oh, that's definitely LNT - they've left no trace there was ever a mountaintop there.

[JPritch]

It could go either way. I never had a run-in with the Poop Police, but I have had encounters with some type of volunteer safety patrol at boat ramps. They have always been elderly/retired volunteers that will approach you and check you for compliance with state boating safety laws (fire extinguisher, life jackets, etc....). The first time I didn't know they weren't official, so I obliged them. Once I found out they were volunteer and had no enforcement powers, I try to avoid them because 1) I am in compliance and 2) a man is just trying to get home after a long day on the water. Who wants to stick around for a 20 minute lecture.

So I will say this about your situation...they were within bounds and I applaud their efforts, but so were you for just wanting to get moving. Bygones be bygones.

[rickb]

Those West Virginia LNT surveillance cops you encountered are pestering the wrong people---how could they have missed this major violation of the Leave No Trace policy???

Great post.

I can think of other well meaning Trail stewards who devote themselves to protecting the aesthetic of our playground, but turn the other check to real environmental impact.

[Trail Lady]

As a female solo hiker my pat response, "To protect my privacy and security...no thank you." The word NO just by itself is always powerful and does not require justification. If they continue, just stare at their forehead as they talk. that will make them leave.