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In the future, if you plan on decorating areas such as the Flatiron with spray paint, please leave your name and address so we can come thank you personally.

That really sucks!!! I am planning on doing the flatiron sometime this week

I think if you replaced "artist" with another word beginning with "A", you'd be closer to the mark.

That can of spray paint needs stuffed up that other word that begins with "a" of his, maybe side ways so he really gets the idea!

I caught two people tagging buildings, one I gave a fresh coat of ford blue (its looks better on a 65 mustang). The other time the person took off running and tripped on a powerpole guy wire, I was tempted to give him a fresh coat but he did a good impression of a jet landing on an aircraft carrier though he knocked himself out. But I called 911 for him.

If you want to stop spraypainting then I say stop it unilaterally. We should all request that the rangers stop marking the trails by spraypainting rocks. They are encouraging other vandals (spraypaint begets spraypaint) and besides if you can't find a trail that well traveled you probably shouldn't be on the trail in the first place.

I found that quite irritating that the way up had spray paint on it. It almost makes you lose the sense of adventure.

You said it. Of course I hate to even see cairns out there on the trail. Some times I just can't believe where people will put those things. And those little orange pieces of tape! dont't even get me started on those. I would like to see people develop a strong trail finding skills before they start marking the trail. That way they might mark the right one.

Above and beyond "marking a trail" what really bugs me, and I know also the rest of you, are the people who go out and "mark" the trail with their beer cans and soda cans and anything else they can find to leave. I have been known to pick things up while I am out there and carry it back and throw it away. Perhaps if we could all do that we could help preseve the beauty we are all out there to see. Keep a small plastic bag in your pack and use it to keep the crap in until you get back to the trail head where there is usually a trash can. I know the original idiot could have used the can but they didn't so...

By the way, this is my first post here on this forum so let me take this opportunity to say hello to every one!

Hello dcornelius, welcome.

I was recalling this thread between huffs and puffs up the Carney Springs Trail Sunday. Someone marked it extensively with spray paint--bummer! I really take offense with that.

I hauled 5 beer cans out of the Mazatzals a few weeks ago, and usually do pick something up on most trips. I don't understand anyone getting out there and then leaving junk behind. But I temper my frustration with the thought that sometimes it might be inadvertant, like one time a loaf of bread disappeared off my pack, where I had it tied in a bag. That does not explain 5 beer cans tho.

I always pick up other people's trash. The biggest thing I've hauled out of the wilderness was a 15lb bowling ball!! Can anyone top that?

cactuscat wrote:I always pick up other people's trash. The biggest thing I've hauled out of the wilderness was a 15lb bowling ball!! Can anyone top that?

where in the world did you find something like that?

I cant stand while i'm hiking I see spray painted rocks and such, it almost ruins the hike. What the purpose of that. However, spray painting on trains is pretty cool....... :roll:

cactuscat wrote:I always pick up other people's trash. The biggest thing I've hauled out of the wilderness was a 15lb bowling ball!! Can anyone top that?

A hiking buddy and I hauled a road grader blade, the replaceable part, out of the Hackberry Springs loop hike once. It was laying along the trail on the part south of the main east-west trail, we left it by the TH for the FS to take care of.

youngboy wrote:

cactuscat wrote:I always pick up other people's trash. The biggest thing I've hauled out of the wilderness was a 15lb bowling ball!! Can anyone top that?

where in the world did you find something like that?

I found it at the bottom of the waterfall near the pools at Hieroglyphic Canyon - there was another one that had broken into pieces. Some moron's idea of fun, obviously.

Sredfield wrote:

cactuscat wrote:I always pick up other people's trash. The biggest thing I've hauled out of the wilderness was a 15lb bowling ball!! Can anyone top that?

A hiking buddy and I hauled a road grader blade, the replaceable part, out of the Hackberry Springs loop hike once. It was laying along the trail on the part south of the main east-west trail, we left it by the TH for the FS to take care of.

Nice.

When I was a young teenager, I had a frien who would mark the trail going in the wrong direction just to throw people off. Thats's what really bugs me! "Trail rock Movers!"

When I was a young teenager, I had a frien who would mark the trail going in the wrong direction just to throw people off.

That's pretty cruel, but you can't help give a little laugh. I often wonder sometimes if the cairns I'm following are the real thing, or if someone placed them there to throw me off. I haven't been (too) lost yet, so I guess not. I do try to put more rocks on cairns that seem a little inadequate though.

Coaster

What if you're building up inadequate rock cairns built to throw people off the trial? Then your just part of the problem!

I say take them all down and let the dedicated hikers find the trails.

matt gilbert wrote:I say take them all down and let the dedicated hikers find the trails.

I would tend to agree. If you're in a remote area, then you sure as heck better know the trail, have a map and posses proper route-finding skills. But for places such as Flatiron, which is often visited by families and children, I think cairns (or even spray painted dots - common on Siphon Draw) are beneficial. For the real hikers, it's just a convenience, or in inconvenience if you end up going up the wrong route and find yourself on the rock slide.

Getting back to topic, I do share in the frustration with these taggers. I'd be a shame if one of them accidently fell off Flatiron, still spraying the paint all the way down ;-)

Coaster