National parks feature vistas and experiences that are gorgeous and unique, so it's natural to want to get closer. When people actually do, though, there's a lot that can go wrong.
Instagram account Tourons of Yellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone) posted a video of a man walking around off the boardwalk near the Grand Prismatic Spring. It noted that his whole group had climbed over the railing and walked around, but he was the only one caught on video.
The fact that there is a whole platform dedicated to tourons (a hybrid of "tourist" and "moron") in Yellowstone seems to indicate that tourists can be a major problem. This is despite signs prohibiting things like climbing boardwalk guardrails and laws that punish offenders.
In fact, actor Pierce Brosnan was fined for going off the boardwalk, according to the U.S. National Park Service. He was caught after he posted photos of himself on Instagram he could only have taken off the trail.
Several years ago, another man was sentenced to a hefty fine, jail time, and a one-year ban from Yellowstone for going off the trail at Grand Prismatic, according to KBZK News out of Bozeman, Montana.
Yet another didn't face legal consequences, but only because he died as a result of his mistake. The Guardian reports that he went off trail, fell into a hot spring, and couldn't escape.
While it seems like these sorts of consequences should be enough to keep people from making questionable life choices in our national parks, that doesn't seem to be the case.
People on Instagram were merciless in their commentary about this particular video.
"I guess they didn't hear about the woman that was critically injured earlier this summer… she was doing the same thing," one said. "Can we the people do a citizen arrest? This is what scares me, people like this have babies and vote!!" someone else wrote.
If this kind of behavior makes you want to do something, start by voting for pro-climate candidates who understand how important it is to protect our natural world by making the consequences high for those who choose to violate posted signs in national parks.
If you choose to visit one yourself, know what not to do before you go and support their efforts of creating sustainable infrastructure.
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