Ok guys, we need to talk for a second.
In the stretch of a weekend, I came across three waterfalls totally littered with trash - and I don't mean "washed in after a high water" trash. I mean folks who managed to pack the cans in and leave them next to the water, still with drinks in them, or this one - what looks like a set of box springs next to a waterfall. If this isn't you, now may be a good time to get out of here, cause I'm pretty hot about this one.
This week, I had some folks asking about "Appalachian Values", and there were several that pitched in with the good - resilience, adaptability, frugality. Those are true for a lot of people, but the first thing I thought of, for better or worse, was a "taking for granted" of this place. The opinion that if it's from somewhere else, it's better. That there is no reason not to dump your trash at a waterfall, because it isn't that special. It's the kind of thing that caused the state to close down Camp 70, and it happens at numerous other little spots where folks dump trash and don't take care of things (Pringle Run Falls, Wonder Falls, Bull Run, Arden, etc etc).
A friend of mine wrote me to say that for some people, "all the worlds a dump, if you have to pay for disposal".
Consider this a "public service announcement", as we head into the kickoff holiday weekend of the summer. Several years ago, I went down to the Cheat at Jenkinsburg after Memorial Day, and was able to pack a pickup load of trash out.
I'd prefer not to be able to do that this year.
Hope folks have a great Memorial Day weekend. (And pack out your trash)
Why Do This (Cottle Falls) - West Virginia