I hate trash on the trail!

jsn_stockard · 09-10-2008, 07:04 PM

I fell in love with wheeling before I could drive. My father would take my brother and I on the trail to show us the wildlife and the fun. The trails were a long way from the farm, and we loved the trip. I spent my 16th birthday on trails on the Red River, living it up with my friends. Now I have a son, and the trails my father took me down are getting fewer and fewer, closed down from all of the trash left behind from all of the irresponsible ones. The small group I run with are a great bunch, if we see anything on the trail we pick it up. I hate to sound like a downer, but it is up to us to take care of the land, so our kids can show their kids. I am not dogging hunters, I come from a long line of them, but shotgun shells are trash, plastic that does not go away. I find all kinds of things in campfires, and find campfires left to burn when the weekend is over, please help save the trails. Get a group and do a cleanup even once is a big help. Carry trashbags and grab something if it catches your eye, our kids will thank you!

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***Corey*** · 09-10-2008, 07:12 PM

I hear you.
There is far to much trash left behind on trails by those who do not know any better or have the attitude that they do not care if they trash the place.

Back when my kid's were small, we use to camp a lot at Greenwater with our tent trailer.
That is also home to all of the wheeling I have done over the past years.

A lot of the campsites are now gone, thanks to trash.
The forest service trenches the entrance to the site, and the only way in is to carry your gear and tent camp, as you can no longer back in a trailer or an RV.

Some individuals have ruined it for others.
Most of the prime spots I use to camp in are now that way.

Not all of them, but a good portion.

I always have trash bags in my rig.

muddpigg · 09-10-2008, 07:54 PM

Your words couldn't be truer. We try to carry more out than we take in but it gets to be unreasonable. I think some of it is the "I'm so tough I don't care" attitude, but then again it may simply be ignorance.

crackerjack · 11-08-2008, 10:50 AM

I was on one of my trails here in tenn. the other day I had put barrels at key intersections so hopefully people would put their cans in them. Would you believe there were cans like 20 yards from the can!? Some idiot spray painted 4 trees with the A. S. loves B.D. thing too. I want to take a chainsaw and grind the letters off but I don't want to hurt the trees,....any ideas?

flyfishexpert · 11-08-2008, 03:22 PM

My father-in-law and I spent the morning bird hunting and ended up filling our bird vests with bud light cans and corona bottles. I think it really boils down to disrespect. Disrespect for others and the land we all utilize. I believe the same people throwing their trash all over, today I spotted a couch, are the same ones that drive around gates, tare down fences, and move the boulders that governing agencies use to keep the public off of trails. Yesterday I was I took a drive to the top of one of the local peaks and discovered that somebody had spent a great deal of time digging through a mound of dirt the BLM had placed at the beginning of one of these "short-cut" trails between a switchback. They must have been up there for hours to dig through this 6' tall mound. I just don't understand.

That is why I proudly display my 'Tread Lightly' sticker on the back of my Runner and I try to cleanup the areas I travel through.

Good luck to you guys!

dport · 11-09-2008, 07:58 AM

AMEN, brothers. I just got back from a one nighter yesterday with some friends. I was at the same spot 2 weeks ago and planned to bring a rake back this trip. Well, I forgot the rake and it was so bad that we had one of the guys who lives close, leave and bring back a rake. I really don't like to rake the area, as it leaves it less natural looking, but it was a mess. I raked up old 9V batteries and all sorts of stuff. Sad, it's one the best places I've ever been.

muddpigg · 11-11-2008, 04:24 PM

Well if the was an open season for litterbugs, we'd end the problem quick. But I know its not the answer but we have yet to figure out why some people will drive up into the mountains to dump a big screen tv. Hell they passed ton's of dumpsters on the way up.

TOYOTA 1 · 11-11-2008, 04:34 PM

good posting.. i hate litter bugs, they should all be squashed!

zkalsent · 03-16-2009, 06:10 AM

I always carry extra trash bags, whether hiking, camping, or taking a walk around the neighborhood. I HATE litter, but I always feel better after picking up an area knowing that it looks 100% better after I have passed through.

Junkers88 · 03-24-2009, 04:05 PM

Just saw this thread and wanted to chime in.

Back when I started hunting birds I was told that under no conditions was I to leave shotgun shells or anything else on the ground. We had several cousins that would blast away and not pick up the empties, they were NOT invited back ever.

The same mind set carried over to off road activities. The last time I went out with a large group we stopped several times to pick up beer bottles, shotgun shells, diapers (yuck), piles of stuff left at makeshift campsites etc... By the time I was done with that weekend I had three 55 gallon bags of stuff in the back of the truck, everyone else had bags also. We filled a public umpster with what we picked up in two days.

I HATE trash on the trail. Hell if everyone that went out would not only not throw thigns out but pick up one extra piece of something then our trails would look 100% better and stay open for years and years.

RMA · 03-24-2009, 04:39 PM

Yea I learned way way back when in Boy Scouts to leave the campsite cleaner than we found it. I just wish there was alot more peolpe that thought about thier trash before leaving the area.

Junkers88 · 03-24-2009, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RMA

Yea I learned way way back when in Boy Scouts to leave the campsite cleaner than we found it. I just wish there was alot more peolpe that thought about thier trash before leaving the area.

Very true. It just kills me when I see things like "Such-and-such trail is being closed due to trash.". It makes all of us look like litter bugs. It only takes a few minutes to stop and pick something up and most of the folks out there don't give a damn about the outdoors.

a4runnerfreak · 03-24-2009, 05:18 PM

That was 1 of the things my dad instilled in since before I started carring a shotgun or rifle when I lil. Always carry OUT more than you carry IN. What really pisses me off, is the beer cans/bottles, and dirty diapers. I can't it, it just really irks the hell outta me.

toyospearo · 03-24-2009, 05:24 PM

It is interesting to me most of the trash I see on the trail around here is from logging operations. Not only trash but huge chunks logging parts in addition to cable and other various logging stuff.
I am not down on logging at all. Most of the friends I have here log and I even worked for a season way back.
I think they should haul it off.

Fae_Tal · 04-23-2009, 11:28 AM

not a lot of people have the self-awareness to realize what they're doing is not only wrong, but will come back to bite them... Karma's a real witch.

I grew up with parents who worked for the Corps of Engineers... Mom owned a business that was contracted to take care of a 20some acre park and rec. area.
What a lot of off-road enthusiasts don't realize, is that garbage isn't the only danger to the trails.
even in the mountains you should pick up after your pets and hose off after each outting (even if your truck looks better muddy... sorry boys)
Noxious and invasive weed species can be spread if you're not careful.
here in SE WA the predominate nasties are Star Thistle, Canadian Bull Thistle, and Puncture Vine.

I could rattle on about the dangers these species of weed forever... but I won't

and the pet thing is pretty self explanitory... dog crap is gross no matter where you step in it /scowl.

VSU_4runnin · 04-23-2009, 11:32 AM

yet one more reason why we are loosing gems like tellico...
Remember to TREAD LIGHTLY!

firemaniac · 04-25-2009, 10:40 AM

One more thing to add to the wheeling list, trash bags, I make it a practice to pack out more than I pack in, helps everyone in the long run.

Another way to help with access is to use the capacities of our trucks to everyone's advantage, rather than just cleaning up the trails we use, we can show a good faith gesture to other public land users, IE hikers, by at least grabbing some of the trash around the trail heads that they use.

dport · 04-25-2009, 05:54 PM

Trail trash DOES include dead fish. I camped in a spot last night I found a few months ago along a popular river in AL. The first thing I noticed when we pulled in was the stench of rottening fish. Someone cleaned their fish and left the remains smack in the center of the small campsite. Now my dogs smell like it, too. Really spoiled the trip since we were supposed to stay till tomorrow.

smartboyalex · 08-19-2009, 07:13 AM

I have just really started getting into offroading, but I volunteer at the Oregon Country Fair every year on the Recycling Crew and it is amazing to see how careless and clueless some people are. The fair is held in the woods west of Eugene and is supposed to be a "Green" event where everyone is supposed to recyle,compost and dispose of there trash but every year we go through the fair after it is over and find bags of mixed trash that people stuff in bushes or trees when there are trash kiosk 100 ft away. It makes you wonder what these people are thinking. I wish it was differnet.

islandboyjt20 · 08-19-2009, 11:56 AM

people down hear spray paint trees like three stories up and it looks nasty and that was one of the resons the trail closed...the other reson was because they found over 200 stolen cars striped and burnt...

algranger · 08-19-2009, 12:18 PM

I agree. It kills me to see piles of beer cans and shells strung through the trails. Many of the local groups host cleanup days and everyone fills their truck bed with crap.

If you brought it in, why is it hard to pack it out?

INFINITY · 08-21-2009, 05:47 PM

i dont mind the cans on the trail...just as long as they keep them insight. that is so that i can pick them up, crush them, and get $ back for them at the recyclers.
WAY too many people cant carry out those heavy empty packages that held their drink/food/fishing gear/etc...

93yotaSR5 · 09-17-2009, 07:53 PM

i have made more money off of plastic bottles and cans found on the trails! but at the same time i would love to slap the hell out of those who leave trash behind!

09-10-2008, 07:12 PM	#2 (permalink)
*Corey* Co-Founder/Administrator Staff Join Date: May 2002 Location: Auburn, Washington Posts: 26,070	I hear you. There is far to much trash left behind on trails by those who do not know any better or have the attitude that they do not care if they trash the place. Back when my kid's were small, we use to camp a lot at Greenwater with our tent trailer. That is also home to all of the wheeling I have done over the past years. A lot of the campsites are now gone, thanks to trash. The forest service trenches the entrance to the site, and the only way in is to carry your gear and tent camp, as you can no longer back in a trailer or an RV. Some individuals have ruined it for others. Most of the prime spots I use to camp in are now that way. Not all of them, but a good portion. I always have trash bags in my rig. __________________ Corey 2007 FJ Cruiser Built for 4wheelin', expedition, camping, and overlanding use PNW FJ Cruisers ☺ Detailing 101 ☺ Join Topsites ☺ Muffler Comparisons ☺ Maggiolinas In The Wild FJ Cruiser Buildup ☺ New Roof Top Tent ☺ Video Of My Penthouse Part II ☺ Rehinge Your ARB/Engel Fridge Blog About Roof Top Tents ☺ FJC Magazines Online Review Of My Tent ☺ 2009 Specialized Rockhopper Pro

09-10-2008, 07:54 PM	#3 (permalink)
muddpigg Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: injured and stateside :( Posts: 1,388	Your words couldn't be truer. We try to carry more out than we take in but it gets to be unreasonable. I think some of it is the "I'm so tough I don't care" attitude, but then again it may simply be ignorance. __________________ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqtr_RvR3sY Balljoints for sale. Open to trades and offers. http://www.yotatech.com/f11/ball-joi.../#post51278784

11-08-2008, 10:50 AM	#4 (permalink)
crackerjack Contributing Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: cookeville tn. Posts: 616	I was on one of my trails here in tenn. the other day I had put barrels at key intersections so hopefully people would put their cans in them. Would you believe there were cans like 20 yards from the can!? Some idiot spray painted 4 trees with the A. S. loves B.D. thing too. I want to take a chainsaw and grind the letters off but I don't want to hurt the trees,....any ideas? __________________ 33x12.5x15 pro-comp front/Swampers back , L.C Eng. cam,pistons,header, Crane multi spark ignition, Zoom Carbon clutch,etc. 8.5 Ramsey winch,4:88 gears open front, spool back. Vs2 backup camera, Lowrance GPS, Sirius Sat Radio, Tacoma bucket seats, tube doors, AllPro sliders and rear bumper Budbuilt crossmember....Thanks Yota Tech links to most this stuff

11-09-2008, 07:58 AM	#6 (permalink)
dport Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 329	AMEN, brothers. I just got back from a one nighter yesterday with some friends. I was at the same spot 2 weeks ago and planned to bring a rake back this trip. Well, I forgot the rake and it was so bad that we had one of the guys who lives close, leave and bring back a rake. I really don't like to rake the area, as it leaves it less natural looking, but it was a mess. I raked up old 9V batteries and all sorts of stuff. Sad, it's one the best places I've ever been. __________________ My truck's not stock, I got BFG A/T's!

11-11-2008, 04:24 PM	#7 (permalink)
muddpigg Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: injured and stateside :( Posts: 1,388	Well if the was an open season for litterbugs, we'd end the problem quick. But I know its not the answer but we have yet to figure out why some people will drive up into the mountains to dump a big screen tv. Hell they passed ton's of dumpsters on the way up. __________________ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqtr_RvR3sY Balljoints for sale. Open to trades and offers. http://www.yotatech.com/f11/ball-joi.../#post51278784

03-16-2009, 06:10 AM	#9 (permalink)
zkalsent Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Charlotte NC Posts: 3	I always carry extra trash bags, whether hiking, camping, or taking a walk around the neighborhood. I HATE litter, but I always feel better after picking up an area knowing that it looks 100% better after I have passed through.

03-24-2009, 04:05 PM	#10 (permalink)
Junkers88 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Albuquerque NM Posts: 2,776	Just saw this thread and wanted to chime in. Back when I started hunting birds I was told that under no conditions was I to leave shotgun shells or anything else on the ground. We had several cousins that would blast away and not pick up the empties, they were NOT invited back ever. The same mind set carried over to off road activities. The last time I went out with a large group we stopped several times to pick up beer bottles, shotgun shells, diapers (yuck), piles of stuff left at makeshift campsites etc... By the time I was done with that weekend I had three 55 gallon bags of stuff in the back of the truck, everyone else had bags also. We filled a public umpster with what we picked up in two days. I HATE trash on the trail. Hell if everyone that went out would not only not throw thigns out but pick up one extra piece of something then our trails would look 100% better and stay open for years and years. __________________ RB4R Life Member. 1989 SR5 4runner. Tread Wright 31/10.50/15's. 4.56 thirds, an Aussie in the @$$, Budbuilt plate, Marlin Crawler front, modified MC rear, Supra MAF conversion, ZUK coils in the rear and 4crawler BJ's in the front, LCE header.

03-24-2009, 04:39 PM	#11 (permalink)
RMA Contributing Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Jose ,Ca Posts: 1,132	Yea I learned way way back when in Boy Scouts to leave the campsite cleaner than we found it. I just wish there was alot more peolpe that thought about thier trash before leaving the area. __________________ '89 2wd X-tracab,W55,22re,My DD '94 SR5 4Runner 4x4,A340H, 3VZE,Alpine deck,Wifes DD '88 SR5 4runner ,A341E,1UZ-FE,kenwoodVZ907, XRC8, Homemade Roof rack.33x10.50,15 KM2 1" home made body lift, BJ spacers ,CB, rear disc brakes ,lockright rear.sky ebrake,truetrac front. My swap thread http://www.yotatech.com/f161/1uz-fe-...0-3vze-185324/

03-24-2009, 05:24 PM	#14 (permalink)
toyospearo Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Location: way way nor cal Posts: 1,576	It is interesting to me most of the trash I see on the trail around here is from logging operations. Not only trash but huge chunks logging parts in addition to cable and other various logging stuff. I am not down on logging at all. Most of the friends I have here log and I even worked for a season way back. I think they should haul it off. __________________ 94 Ext. cab 22re Aussied, 4.88's, SAS,ed, FLATBED, Old Man Emu rear leafs w/TG 5.5" shackles, TG sliders, LC Header, Marlin super HD clutch, 32's- Swamper TSL's- RC rims, Badland Bumper, lifted, lighted, LED'ed, Warned, alternatored (LC High ouput), Hammed, gusseted, trussed, etc, etc... My build thread http://www.yotatech.com/f152/great-w...ck-sas-164531/ My Flatbed build thread http://www.yotatech.com/f88/toyospea...-build-191787/

04-23-2009, 11:32 AM	#16 (permalink)
VSU_4runnin Registered User Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: South Georgia Posts: 657	yet one more reason why we are loosing gems like tellico... Remember to TREAD LIGHTLY! __________________ 1998 Toyota 4Runner: 33" BFG A/T T/A: KO 2.5" Lift CB Radio Brush Guard Yakima roof rack manikin head (Viola), and more to come! Clicky For Picky Buildup GATTORA KJ4HVQ Skywarn Ga 208 ΦΣK DAMN PROUD! Last edited by VSU_4runnin; 04-23-2009 at 11:49 AM.

04-25-2009, 10:40 AM	#17 (permalink)
firemaniac Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Granite Falls, WA. U.S.A. Posts: 195	One more thing to add to the wheeling list, trash bags, I make it a practice to pack out more than I pack in, helps everyone in the long run. Another way to help with access is to use the capacities of our trucks to everyone's advantage, rather than just cleaning up the trails we use, we can show a good faith gesture to other public land users, IE hikers, by at least grabbing some of the trash around the trail heads that they use. __________________ 93, 22RE, 5Spd, Reg Cab, Short box, ICOM IC-V8000, Hella 500's, Cobra 75 WX ST, tool box, home-brew headache rack, extended diff breathers, basically stock but upgrading as money allows. - Firefighters, Because Police need heroes too Prepare for the worst, Hope for the best Try Geocaching

04-25-2009, 05:54 PM	#18 (permalink)
dport Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 329	Trail trash DOES include dead fish. I camped in a spot last night I found a few months ago along a popular river in AL. The first thing I noticed when we pulled in was the stench of rottening fish. Someone cleaned their fish and left the remains smack in the center of the small campsite. Now my dogs smell like it, too. Really spoiled the trip since we were supposed to stay till tomorrow. __________________ My truck's not stock, I got BFG A/T's!

08-19-2009, 11:56 AM	#20 (permalink)
islandboyjt20 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: WAIKANE, HAWAII Posts: 35	people down hear spray paint trees like three stories up and it looks nasty and that was one of the resons the trail closed...the other reson was because they found over 200 stolen cars striped and burnt... __________________ WAIKANE... I BULIT...

08-19-2009, 12:18 PM	#21 (permalink)
algranger Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Here in the PNW Posts: 3,264	I agree. It kills me to see piles of beer cans and shells strung through the trails. Many of the local groups host cleanup days and everyone fills their truck bed with crap. If you brought it in, why is it hard to pack it out? __________________ . . . I said lie, for me lying under a process tree . . . .

08-21-2009, 05:47 PM	#22 (permalink)
INFINITY Registered User Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Canyon Creek, AZ Posts: 643	i dont mind the cans on the trail...just as long as they keep them insight. that is so that i can pick them up, crush them, and get $ back for them at the recyclers. WAY too many people cant carry out those heavy empty packages that held their drink/food/fishing gear/etc... __________________ TRAIL GEAR's CUSTOMER SERVICE IS TERRIBLE MORE LIKE A HEADACHE OR PAIN IN THE A$$ THAN A SERVICE! -1980 toyota 4x4 - 235/85/16 bfg M/T tires, 03 tacoma wheels, onboard air, trd camshaft, 18" e-fan, weber 32/36 carb, 4.88 yukons, lockright in rear, etc -94 xcab SAS, arb/lockright, 5.29s, 4" lift, etc... Yota tech gallary- http://yotatech.com/gallery/showgall...ser=15173&sl=i <---yes, that is victory blood!

09-17-2009, 07:53 PM	#23 (permalink)
93yotaSR5 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: sacramento ca Posts: 181	i have made more money off of plastic bottles and cans found on the trails! but at the same time i would love to slap the hell out of those who leave trash behind!

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