Trash in camp sights!!!!!

[Mike]

Man Nothing I mean nothing pisses me off more than getting to a camp sight you have to hike into or any sight for that matter and finding the place literally trashed!!!!  My kids and I walked into a sight to spend the night the otherday and when we arived the place was a absolute mess.  Cigaret cartens, beer cans, broken beer bottles, and generals trash everywhere.  We picked up 8 pounds of trash that I packed it out.  We all drop stuff by accident, the corner of a chocolate bar rapper we did not notice we dropped or a bread clip.  No one is 100% perfect, but holy crap!!  It was like the idea of picking up there stuff never even crossed there minds.  I wish I had walked up on those guys.  It would have been a hoot!!!  And duck hunter, hey guys pick up your shells.  I do it, my friends do it.  Its not hard!!!

[Nanno]

Totally agree! No excuse to leave litter lying all over the place. Some of Colorado's beautiful rugged camping areas near Boulder and Fort Collins have been hit hard by the (often homeless) pot smoking crowd. We hear the stereotypical nonsense about how environmentally savvy they are, and how much they care about saving the planet, etc., but try camping anywhere after "hippies" have been there and you'll think you took a wrong turn to the county dump. My husband and I have enjoyed taking trail cleanup hikes from time to time. I have these semi-rigid trash cans that fit perfectly in our panniers. They flex enough to mold around the sides of the goats and be comfortable for them to carry, but they are stiff enough to protect them (and my panniers) from glass, wire, and metal garbage. I've always wanted to take my goats to the twice-yearly community trash cleanup days we have here, but those guys always want to start early in the morning when I'm still busy milking, so we haven't had a chance to join them yet.

[Mike]

Nanno,
Thats great you go clean up trips.  Homeless camps are a yotally difrent kettle of fish.  We get call for homeless camp clean up operation all the time.  It gets codes as a Haz Mat responce.  Becareful, keep a eye out for needles, and human waste.  We wear puncture resistant boots, turn out pants, and two sets of latex glove under the puntureesistant tactical police gloves when we do that crap.  Dont blindly grab big handfuls of "garbage"  you never know.  If you ever do get pocked safely secure the needle and get to the hospital ASAP.  Keep the needle so it can be tested for contamination.  
Its great to know I am not the only one who is driven nuts by other peoples laziness or lack of carrying.

[Nanno]

We don't clean up anything that hardcore. We just clean up the average litter found on roadsides and the one really popular hiking trail to the water slides. People come from Pueblo to cool off in the creek and they leave their garbage behind on the trail and in the river. Mostly Bud Light cans and Aquafina bottles. What the heck? We don't have the problem with homeless pot smokers in my neck of the woods. That's mostly up north of Denver. Luckily now that California has legalized, a lot of them are moving back there as quickly as possible. It's not easy maintaining a homeless lifestyle in Colorado during wintertime! It doesn't bother me if people want to maintain bad habits or live the hobo lifestyle if that's their choice, but there's no reason for them to trash our beautiful mountains and countryside.

[Kat]

This is one of my hot buttons. Why do folks trash camp sites, what they think they'll never come back to it??  Do they really want to arrive looking at garbage themselves?  I just don't get it, particularly the ones that cr*p right in the middle of their own campsite, I mean really...

And yep, have also packed our share of garbage out.

[Montana Mike]

This is one of my hot buttons. Why do folks trash camp sites, what they think they'll never come back to it??  Do they really want to arrive looking at garbage themselves?  I just don't get it, particularly the ones that cr*p right in the middle of their own campsite, I mean really...

And yep, have also packed our share of garbage out.

Yeah, burns me up too. So much so, in fact, that I devoted a whole chapter to it in a book I wrote titled Flyfisher's Guide to Northwest Montana's Mountain Lakes which will be released next month by Wilderness Adventures Press. The title of the chapter is "Backcountry Behavior." One of the things that particularly bothers me is when someone discards an empty plastic water bottle. The thing can't weigh more than an ounce. They packed it in full; why can't they pack it out empty? A quote from the chapter: "Our true character is demonstrated by what we do when no one is looking. If I waste game, keep over my limit, or leave trash in my wake, I show that I’m not a saint, but a slob."

[Sanhestar]

This is one of my hot buttons. Why do folks trash camp sites, what they think they'll never come back to it??  Do they really want to arrive looking at garbage themselves?  I just don't get it, particularly the ones that cr*p right in the middle of their own campsite, I mean really...

I fear, it's basic humaniod nature. If you look at what archeologists and paleontologists find in campsites of early man it's often the trash, that was left behind. We once were nomadic in lifestyle = leaving a camp/area for weeks/months in which any natural detritus would degrade. Everything else has to be learned and conditioned and if that isn't done in childhood.......

[IdahoNancy]

Because we are all related as as humanoids it is up to those of us with a heart and soul to pick up after our brethren. We leave it better than we found it and rest well at night.
Montana Mike I can't wait to get your book.

[Montana Mike]

Because we are all related as as humanoids it is up to those of us with a heart and soul to pick up after our brethren. We leave it better than we found it and rest well at night.
Montana Mike I can't wait to get your book.

Hey, IdahoNancy! Thanks for your interest in the book.

FYI, my new book, "Flyfisher's Guide to Northwest Montana's Mountain Lakes"  just came out as an ebook on Amazon and Google. The print edition will be out by June 1, and the publisher is offering a presale discount. Of special interest to our tribe is the chapter called, "Hiking with a Goat: the World's Best Pack Animal." 

Links: 

Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BZLGL56/ref...le_ext_tmb
Google - https://play.google.com/store/books/deta...dUDwAAQBAJ
Wilderness Adventures Press (publisher) - https://wildadvpress.com/v3/index.php/pr...ain-lakes/

If you do decide to get a copy, PLEASE do a review. I believe it will help our goat packing cause (it wouldn't hurt me, either).