Who's naughty?

Each year on our blog, we suggest a list of those who should be...well, who shouldn't have done what they did this year. WE have a few suggestions below...but would love to hear any additions you'd like to make!

We have to start with those knuckleheads who think they are either too smart or too stupid to follow the regulations in the National Forests, and then end up starting massive wildfires. Seriously, we can’t think of an appropriate punishment for someone who starts a fire like that. (This last year we saw someone cutting branches off a tree in the Emigrant Wilderness for his campfire. He knew this was wrong. We reminded him. He kept doing it. Grrrr.)

And then there are the nasty people who seem to think that their trash is somehow less offensive than everyone else’s. That’s the only reason we can imagine that we’ve found everything from toilet paper and tampons to tin cans and micro-trash throughout the Sierra. Please. You are welcome to be a complete slob in your own house, or in your car, but when you are visiting Mother Nature, please make sure that you clean up after yourself. We haven’t done a hike in ten years without finding some trash on the trails. Yeah, we pick it up in most cases. If you’ll give us your name and address, we’d be happy to mail it back to you.

Mother Nature, with one of the toughest droughts on record. Come on, Mom. Have a heart.

Good one, balzaccom, but I suspect you're preaching to the choir here! I hope so, anyway!

Reminds me a little of the railroad recruitment scene in "Blazing Saddles."

To your list I'll add intentional and unintentional arsonists, poachers, those who sneak their wheeled conveyances in where they don't belong, cattle, commercial packers.

My blessings are bestowed upon trail crews, backcountry volunteers and rangers, wilderness rescue and EMTs, firefighters, field biologists and botanists, NOAA Weather, Google Earth and Bing satellite service.

Santa knows who's who.

Congress, for its ongoing lack of political hangy-down-things to do the right thing in general and to pass a budget in particular, leading to periodic closings of hiking areas. (Although, as someone pointed out, "how do you close a forest?")

1. Those people who backpack into a place with a large group of people just to get smashed and tell and vomit through the hole night. I am the guy who then wakes up at 6 and makes as much noise as possible to tear down my camp before starting for the day

2. Those people who arrive at a other than your group empty back country camping area and choose to camp right next to your area.

That's all I got. But others have been spot on to

Earlier this year I was day hiking/testing some new stuff in a popular scenic area. During this time of the year, the sun set at 6pm. The entire trail is short, taking about 3 hours at a moderate pace (including a short break). As I was leaving, a group of 4 college aged guys were entering the area. They had no water, inadequate footwear, and it was 5:00. Hopefully good sense prevailed and they turned around before they were hiking in the pitch blackness of night, but if I know college bros, they totally went for it, dude!

June of last year I was in the Sipsey Wilderness in Alabama when I saw a family of 6. Mom, dad, and four kids all 12 or younger. Again with the no food, no water, inadequate footwear, and so on. They were seeking the Big Tree (Alabama's largest tree, I think) which is a 12 mile round trip hike. When I saw them a few hours later they where lost, and asked for directions out.

Seems to be a recurring theme, though these two examples stuck out in my head. I guess they really aren't hurting anyone but themselves.

Actually, if Search And Rescue gets called out to find them, the lives of those volunteers may be at risk.

I take issue with saying commercial packers as a group are "naughty". I personally know some very environmentally conscious packers. Many commercial packers are a lot more responsible than private horsemen, but then there are responsible private horsemen too. You may not agree that horses should be allowed in the wilderness, but do not blame the packer. He is just out there making a living and doing it with permits, paying lots of fees, and doing it legally.

I would put near the top of the list the self absorbed gal who put up her illegal "art work" all over the national parks.

Also, those in Congress who keep cutting back funding for the National Parks and Forest Service.

I have a few nominees:

The State of Missouri for closing down our State Water Patrol a few years ago and shifting their duties to the Highway Patrol.

This year a young man was drown after being handcuffed and placed in a Patrol boat that was being operated by an officer with no training. Witnesses said the officer was traveling at a high speed when he hit a large wake from another big boat and the young man was ejected from the patrol boat and drown.

I don't recall anything even close to that happening when we had a full time State Water Patrol.

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Those who think they need to fly "Drones" in NPs, NFs, and other other such parks and public areas. I haven't see any of that here yet but I know it would annoy me something awful if one of those came buzzing around me close enough to see or hear it.

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Those who shoot albino deer. This year I read that one was shot here in Missouri and another in Wisconsin. Both animals we're well known and loved by locals. It was a middle aged adult here that shot an old albino buck, and a young boy in Wisconsin who's father was telling him to take the shot who killed a younger deer. From what I recall reading, both of those men were hunting for those deer.

It honestly never even occurred to me that drones would be a nuisance to people. I always just thought they made gorgeous aerial films. But, live and learn; now I know.

They do make gorgeous aerial films, and the technology is amazing. I'm no less annoyed with ATVs, Motorcycles, Mountain Bikes, Motorboats, etc. in places that are designated public areas where these are restricted or banned.

I'm not opposed to their use entirely, but I'd rather there isn't a free for all approach and there's already been instances where their operators made less than good choices and their drones failed and/or crashed. The video of the wedding couple getting smacked in the head with a drone was a good example of that this year.

Towards the end of this year we saw several videos of birds attacking drones and the general consensus was "Wow, watch this. Isn't this cool?!!" but that wasn't my take away at all. This kind of stuff begets more of the same. It's not a stretch to assume there will be those who, after seeing this, will go looking for wildlife to provoke.

Next year we'll likely see videos of drones annoying Bear, Deer, Moose, Whales, and whatever they can because some people will be feeding their egos with the number of YouTube views they get.

It's almost impossible to imagine we'll not see even stupider drone events next year. We just can't over estimate the creative ways and great efforts people will put into pushing the bounds of stupid and there has to be an almost infinite number of ways to apply that to drones.

All that said, I think the technology is awesome, and the potential for what can be done with these is huge and both exciting and frightening at the same time. So, it's not something we can take lightly. I think we need to try and get a grip on it pretty quickly.

I read recently that the FAA has had reports of quite a few near misses between drones and aircraft. I read the article just before flying across the country and back, and that didn't exactly make me feel secure on the plane!

People who fed elks and bears in Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

A group of hiker who left their backpack (packed with all gears and food) in thick bush so they could climb a summit without heavy weight. I noticed the backpacks being left there but thought the hikers were nearby relieving themselves or something only later to discover they belong to the group up the trail trying to summit Rocky Top.. A bear could have easily stole their packs and ate it.

A family of 4 with an overweight child trying to hike 2.5 miles (one way) to a small cascade that has a steady and non-stop climb. She was weezing and huffing pretty bad... While I thought it was nice they try to get her to exercise, but that trail will not show kindness to someone in that kind of condition.

Everything else has been mentioned. The congress funding definitely makes me mad. Makes me want start a not-for-profit or join an existing one and fight for these funding to remain and partner with businesses to raise funds to keep the national parks and forests operational and out of commercial businesses hands.