To Whom It May Concern

To the Litterbugs:

 Imagine a pristine lake, so clear you can see the fish swimming lazily through the cool blue depths, brooks cascading over river-tumbled rocks, their brilliant colors set off by the refreshing crystal water. The whisper of the old moss carpeted trees swaying in the crisp mountain breeze and lush trails riddled with boastful flowers. In a glen there's geese with their goslings, gliding across the glass-like surface of the lake areducks, and the chitter of birds offers a relaxing symphony.

 Now, imagine that beautiful place littered with discarded beer cans, forgotten cigarette butts, dirty old socks shoved under a bush, or broken glass bottles where your children would run along the beach. Also imagine it peppered with inappropriately disposed garbage bags ripped open by wildlife and its contents strewn about. Not a welcoming sight, would you agree?

 This is what welcomed us when we went to Sugar Pine Resevoir near Foresthill, California. When Vin & I scouted the place weeks prior we'd taken out what we could (cans--beer AND soda, old rope and general garbage). When we returned with Sleeping CB and his children to fish, we were offered the wonderful site of carelessly left-behind garbage filled with someone Easter picnic that had been torn apart by the furry residence at Sugar Pine. Littering the path were beer cans, broken bottles, crushed soda cans, old food, clothing, discarded camping gear and old, rain-soaked sleeping bags.

 Really, people? Really?! If you want to continue to enjoy a safe, beautiful jewel in the environment, I suggest you pigs clean up after yourselves. We're not talking DEEP into the forest where it's too hard to trek out the garbage YOU BROUGHT IN. This is FEET, YARDS from the trail entrance. And seriously folks, if you're man enough to bring in all your crap, you're man enough to take it out. It takes one extra moment of THINKING ahead to bring a garbage bag. And, if you're like the idiots who DID think of taking a garbage bag...WALK the extra 10 feet to the GARBAGE CAN and THROW IT AWAY. Don't leave it on the trail entrance hoping someone ELSE is going to clean up after you like this is some urban tract-home set up.

 This is what invites the ecological imbalance of human food into the chain where bears, racoons, or whatever look for our easy scraps to scavange endangering their health and ours. This kind of carelessness is what hikes up the cost of environmental clean upsof already endangered park funds. Parks you clearly like to take advantage of, but don't respect enough not to shit in it so it's ruined for your future use and everyone else around you.

 People like you DISGUST us. People like YOU who result in us, spending our get-away-from-the-city time picking up after YOU in the RAIN so no one else would have to deal with YOUR crap!