After a short hiatus from my blog to focus on personal pursuits I have found myself inspired to write about one of the issues plaguing my cherished pursuit. Something that has been getting more and more attention in the relevant media circles is the amount of waste and litter building up at some of the world’s beauty spots. Now I myself have only witnessed this on mountain trails as it tends to be where I find myself most of the time when I travel but the following paragraphs extend to all elements of outdoor activity.
I have visited a lot of places over the years, from Asia to South America one thing remains constant and that is that humans make a mess. Now I would hope that 99% of people that read this are responsible and conscious of the footprint they leave but unfortunately it only takes 1% to begin to have an impact on these landscapes. We all dream of visiting the mystical places we see in photographs or in documentaries but for some people who may have used savings for a once in a lifetime trip the experience can be somewhat soured by the ignorance of a few and I think this is wholly unfair.
Many of us visit these remote places because they are exactly that… remote. But the inescapable truth is that you’re never too far away from a discarded drinks bottle, broken equipment, among various other bits of detritus. It’s in our nature to have a mind-set of “I didn’t create the mess so why should I clean it up” and I am as guilty as the next person, it is much easier to simply turn a blind eye and within a few months of returning the beautiful pictures we capture soon diminish any thoughts of the few unsavoury views, however the issue persists even once our back is turned.
The issue however is not just reserved for these grandiose destinations, even my local National Park the Peak District is victim as are a lot of tourist hotspots around the country. Therefore I have made myself a promise that I will not consciously walk past any litter that I have the ability to pick up and dispose of properly, in the hopes that a butterfly effect may take hold and more people will join in keeping these areas of national and international beauty that we hold so dear clean and pristine for many years to come. One day I would like to take my children and grandchildren to marvel at the same iconic panoramas that caused me to develop such a love of the wilderness, much the same as my Grandad did with me.
Later this year (Covid permitting) I am hopefully travelling to the Caucasus range in Russia for a chance to summit Elbrus, whilst I am there I want to leave a positive impact on the area however just exactly what that looks like remains an unknown. If you have any ideas, suggestions, or even just a positive story from your experiences then let’s have a conversation below.
Be the change you want to see.
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