>

Likewise. I have hiked through Yosemite, Zion, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon. Once you get more than a day's hike into the park, it is sooo quiet. Seems like 99.9% of the people never venture deeper than a day hike.
Is this where everyone was taking those Instagram photos a few years back? >

I live near here. It was insane. People were stopping along the sides of the I-15 freeway to get out of their car and walk up to the hills for pictures. Bunch of idiots >

Just drove through here over the weekend and the poppies are definitely on their way. Saw some “influencers” trampling them between an on ramp and the freeway. >

All it would take is a tow truck driver and spotter team to sit around the area and swoop in for the tow. >

City should pass an ordinance to do that, and part of the fine is to pose for a picture with a sign held up saying "I was selfish and tried to destroy nature for a goddamn social media post" and then put it up on a website. >

People on these apps should comment shame any photos that appear. Or report them. >

Definitely don’t comment shame. Comments count as engagement, which furthers their reach. Best to report/block to reduce the spread. >

I'm glad I got to be in the area back in 2019. Was just a happy coincidence, I was there for a soils* competition. It's a beautiful area
**Soil judging competition >

I have never heard of a soils competition before. I googled it, and it sounds fascinating. Genuinely curious: how did you get into it? Seems like a very niche hobby. >

My university had a team! I wasn't that great (probably the weakest link tbh, my degree focus was water), but my former boss was the coach.   Cal poly-SLO hosted regionals that year. It was a beautiful town/region and a beautiful time of year, and I got a free trip to California out of it.
I also got to see wild sea otters in Morro Bay which was fantastic >

I have a hat and shirt from the Cal Poly soil club, lol. They say "I grow grass" on one side and "Cal Poly Soil Science Club" on the other. 18 year old me thought it was the peak of comedy >

Maybe arrest and charge the shitbags who landed a helicopter on them four years ago. >

I remember seeing that video and how they scampered off back the the helicopter and took off when confronted.  Fuck those people. >

I happened to be backpacking during 2019. 
Millions of painted lady butterflies followed me throughout the blooming of the desert as I headed north. 
Skipped the Instagram crowd entirely as I was pretty far out there. Simply magical watching them ride the wind. 
Never going to forget that. 
Plus I got to see a lot of cacti and Joshua trees blooming. >

Sometimes it's easy to forget that there are people out there living for the moment instead of documenting everything on social media, because you just don't see them lol >

We had a joke that the easier an area is to get to, the worse it is. 
Past what people can reach during an overnighter the trash and signs of humans (mostly) disappear. 
I think a lot of it has to do with how past that limit, you start to get more exposure to the community where "leave no trace" is the rule. 
The other factoid I relate it to is how chimpanzees will build a new nest periodically, because past one season it's so full of filth and garbage as to make it inhospitable. 
Most of the population doesn't seem to have gotten past that phase.