On this entire trip, I’ve been picking up other people’s trash at every parking spot. Beautiful areas, including places in the middle of the desert, with rubbish left behind by the people who were there before me.
Everything from business cards and empty bottles to piles and piles of used packaging, trash bags, chip bags, and balloons. The first photo, the one with the orange cup, shows what I picked up on just a mile walk in and out. That’s how much was lying around on one short walk.
Look, I understand that accidents happen. You drop something, don’t notice it, and keep going. That happens to everyone. It probably happens to me too. A kid somewhere in the world might accidentally let go of a balloon, and it ends up landing in the desert. I can understand that.
But walking through the desert and finding chairs, ripped-up couches, clothes, and what looks like half a campsite left behind is something else. It’s very hard to believe people simply didn’t notice they’d left all that. It looks like they just didn’t feel like taking it with them. Seeing that makes me think people just don’t care.
Throughout this trip, I’ve kept picking up the trash, and I’ve taken pictures of what I’ve been finding. These are beautiful places, and this is what’s been left in them.
Pack it in, pack it out. If you can’t do that, you shouldn’t go into nature.
The Guy Behind the Desk
