A hiker who stumbled upon graffiti and litter in the middle of a beautiful outpost shared the disappointing mess on Reddit.
"Went hiking and came across the aftermath of a gender reveal," they wrote in February in r/mildlyinfuriating, referring to hundreds of pieces of blue confetti.
"Is that also a prom date proposal I see in the back?" one commenter asked. "2 for 2 here."
The poster replied: "I checked my other photos and yea it does say 'PROM?'"
The garbage not only polluted the environment but also created an extreme hazard for area fauna.
"Wildlife and domesticated animals die from this," one user pointed out. "How is celebrating life by killing others justified?"
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Indeed, litter can hurt and even kill animals. It can also spread diseases and pathogens that can be deadly to humans.
The best way to handle this type of situation is to politely and respectfully confront the offender if they're around. If not, cleaning up the worst of it after them is the way to go. As one Redditor noted, "being a good person isn't easy sometimes."
Hikers and others who enjoy the outdoors can further protect the environment by taking such steps as using metal water bottles or those made with 100% recycled plastic — as long as you avoid single-use plastics.
Those and other pieces of trash make their way to landfills or end up in the environment. Even supposedly biodegradable materials don't always break down, which is why more than 14 million tons of plastic reach the ocean every year and why plastic makes up 80% of all marine debris.
"It looks as if it was a nice place," one Redditor wrote. "Inconsiderate bipeds seem to ruin such places and it makes me sad."
Another agreed: "It's not promising when people won't consider leaving a better world and a cleaner environment for the next generation."
Someone else launched a diatribe about promposals that sparked a great discussion, including gems such as "the bigger it is the more embarrassing it is if the answer is no" and "entire generations … competing for attention on social media."
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