There are few better places in the world to be awed by the power of nature than the Redwood National and State Parks in California.
The area hosts some of the tallest trees on Earth, which can really put your existence into perspective.
Visiting this site can be truly memorable, and some might want to take a photo in front of the enormous tree trunks to show to friends and family. While that's an acceptable way to keep a record of the experience, one Redditor shared a snap of a truly unacceptable demonstration of commemorating the trip.
They posted a picture on the r/NationalParks subreddit that showed the carvings of initials on a surface. Unfortunately, this wasn't the only instance, as the Redditor noted they saw this kind of thing "multiple times" during their visit.
Whether on rocks or trees, carving anything immediately goes against the mantra of "leave no trace," which is typically adopted in areas of astounding natural beauty. Essentially, it means you should leave the area as it was, or in better condition, than when you found it. Scrawling initials is pretty much the opposite of that.
In fact, the National Park Service's webpage for Redwood Parks asks visitors to "Preserve the past: examine, photograph, but do not touch cultural or historic structures and artifacts." It also calls on tourists to "Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them."
If carving is done on a tree, it can severely impact its health by stripping away protective bark and allowing disease, pests, and fungi to access tree tissue. With trees in the area potentially thousands of years old, it would be a real shame if careless human actions affected their survival.
But rock carving can also be problematic, affecting structural integrity and harming tiny organisms that live on its surface. In some cases, this can even damage Indigenous land or ruin historic artifacts.
Redditors were similarly outraged by how the park was defaced, with one saying, "I'll never get why people choose to act like this, most wouldn't write their names or initials on their own house walls, but for some reason it's fair game at National Parks and beyond."
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"Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories," another user said.
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