Trashed

 

Sunrise on the Mogollon Rim

I got thinking about this while cleaning up someone else’s leavings in my camp yesterday.  

I have come to love “dispersed camping.”  As long as I follow the rules of the particular Forest or BLM Unit, I can camp outside an established campground.  Generally this means solitude, quiet, and a sense of wilderness. Sometimes there are even spectacular views.

Now and again, though, the sites are a mess with scattered trash.  This last camp was in the Coconino National Forest along the Mogollon Rim.  This area, in my experience, is particularly trashy.  I’d correlate that with what I call a “high redneck quotient.”  For the sake of this argument, I’ll call a redneck someone who doesn’t care enough about the area to pick up their own waste; someone who considers the wilderness their personal garbage heap.

I have some thoughts about this.

Maples in the forest

I wouldn’t consider visiting these areas on a weekend or (heaven forbid) a summer holiday.  In addition to the garbage, they’re rife with loud ATVs going way too fast on one-lane dirt roads, RVs running generators, and target practice.

"Lurch," my camping rig on the Mogollon Rim

That being said, camping in cute trailers, tricked-out vans, and rigs like mine is enjoying a huge resurgence.  Some all this the “Home is where you park it” movement. True, this creates greater crowds, but by and large these folks are respectful and quiet.

I fear that there’s some correlation between the rednecks and a growing trend toward defacing natural areas.  

There’s been a flood of stories about (for example) “artwork” painted on rocks in National Parks, Sharpie graffiti in our own West Fork (Sedona), driving on the fragile playa in Death Valley, and the destruction of fragile rock formations.  I confronted a teenager carving his name in a slot canyon while his mom was RIGHT NEXT TO HIM.

Yellow maple fisheye

Somehow we’re less respectful of our natural areas and of each other.  We seem not to understand the long-term consequences of our destruction.  Yes, we can pick up trash and recycling as we move through the forest, but what can we do about a hoodoo toppled over at Goblin Valley?

I can’t offer a coherent theory about this selfish behavior, but I’m quite interested in your thoughts.

Meanwhile, I carry extra trash bags and stay home weekends.

I hope the images create some counterpoint  to the unattractive aspects of this post.  

More in the Autumn 2016 Gallery on the website.