Camping is a fun way to party with your friends while enjoying nature, but when people leave their party behind at the campsite, it can spoil the next person's visit to the area.
This was the case when one Redditor found a scenic spot to set up camp next to a lake in a national forest and also found the remnants of numerous camping parties.
"I found trash, two discarded tents, countless beer cans, bottles, a discarded griddle, a broken charcoal grill, chairs, children's shoes, used diapers, and more," they wrote in the r/camping subreddit.
"Nature is mine to use and trash as I please, some people think," they captioned the post, which has several photos showing some of the litter left behind, along with a few trees that had been sawed and hacked down.
This type of disrespect for nature is, unfortunately, all too common. Whether it's people littering on hiking trails, spray painting their initials on trees, or stressing out wildlife for a picture, these careless actions happen in national parks around the country.
While it's a bummer that this camper had to deal with littered land, the real victims here are the animals who call that area home. Our trash is killing wildlife.
A recent report analyzed trash collected by 199 cleanup events at national parks. Of the over 8,000 pieces of litter, 66% contained plastic.
Plastic pollution is one of the biggest threats facing our environment. According to Earth.org, we generated over 383 million tons of plastic pollution in 2017. Animals in every corner of the world are choking to death on our plastic waste because entitled people like the ones who visited the campsite in the Reddit post don't think about the harm their selfish actions cause.
Exploring national parks provides an excellent opportunity to connect with nature. However, treating the parks and wildlife with respect makes the experience better for everyone.
The OP left the post on a positive note with a stunning photo of the lake highlighted by the last bit of sunlight in the sky as dark silhouettes of trees stretch up into a blue night sky.
"Please enjoy the last pic, which captures the beauty of this place without the scars of human touch," they wrote to the other members of the camping forum. "Keep up the good fight; we have but one world in which to live."
"This makes me irrationally angry," one person wrote in the comments.
"I think disrespect of nature is a basis for very rational anger," the OP replied.
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