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Bullwinkle
Boulder climber
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 27, 2010 - 06:24pm PT
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The trash in El Cap Meadow is out of control and for unexplained reasons the Park Service has been taking a blind eye to this problem.
For the past eight years I've been asking the powers that be for trash cans at the parking for the Meadow. I've been told that "We're looking into the Problem" I've also been told that "It would create a Visual Eye Sore" to have trash cans present. An eyesore to put trashcans next to the bearboxes?
The NPS run's a shuttle bringing turons to the meadow but offers no place to put their waste, no bathrooms for their tp.
SAR has a portable outhouse there now, with a lock on it (isn't this a Visual EyeSore?)
This problem needs to be addressed now, there's a bunch of bearproof trashcans just sitting and rusting at the Superintendents House near the Lodge. All that's needed is someone with a flatbed truck and a few strong backs to a least try and make a dent into this joke. . .Who's in?
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Gene
Social climber
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Jun 27, 2010 - 06:50pm PT
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I like the idea of trash cans at EC Meadow. However, putting them near the bear boxes will mean that about 90% of visitors won't see/use them. Maybe put some discrete signs on the meadow side of the bridge telling tourons where the trash cans are? Regardless, if putting them by the bear boxes cuts down the trash in the meadow, then do it.
EDIT: Regarding Visual Eye Sore. Where in YV are they not a Visual Eye Sore?
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Jingy
Social climber
Nowhere
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Jun 27, 2010 - 10:10pm PT
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by any chance do you have any photos of the trachcans at the super's place?
maybe you can post someone out there in front of their place to get them in a picture of said superintendant walking past all the cans....
I say yes to having a trashcan near the bear boxes. I say yes to having ports toilet there as well. I cannot tell you how much I'd hate to sh#t in the woods in/around the meadow.
The only problem that I can see with this is the fact that tourons will not drop their trash inside the can, and instead, just toss it to within proximate of the can...
I cannot help with stealing a trashcan from the supers house... that's just jail time waiting to happen. supers can be very reactionary with simple solutions like this.
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mark miller
Social climber
Reno
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Jun 27, 2010 - 10:24pm PT
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This has been at the "real" crux of how to manage the Valley for 100 years+...Do we take care of the initial problem ( Allowing trash to be dumped readily) and advocate more "Tourons",( Valley usage or do we try to reduce the impact on our precious resources and say No.
As Sir Paul said" too many people running round, Too many people underground, too many people.....,That was your first mistake...,Your took your lucky break and broke it in 2".
Population control is the only real answer and more of those 70's commercials with the American Indian crying at the thrash and pollution individuals leave behind.
I'll say no to cans, but when I drove through the Valley earlier this month there were "To many people running 'round"...I left and went back to the real hills. Our National parks (the Ken Burns," gift too the American people") are over run.
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lunchbox
Big Wall climber
santa cruz, ca
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Jun 27, 2010 - 10:28pm PT
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Seriously, Why the locked port-a-potty at the Bridge?
There's a freaking Vault toilet everywhere else in the Valley.
Invest some in infrastructure for christ (and his minions) sake!
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james Colborn
Trad climber
Truckee, Ca
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Jun 27, 2010 - 10:33pm PT
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Great idea? I think not.
The Bearboxes are already trashcans. Climbers are to blame for that not tourons. My last visit to the park we tried to put a cooler in the boxes and found all of them to be jammed with abandoned crap. Empty beer cans and bottles, empty canned food, empty cereal boxes. etc. We hauled a full hefty bag home of trash. Get over blaming tourons, we are to blame.
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mark miller
Social climber
Reno
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Jun 27, 2010 - 10:35pm PT
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The more Infrastructure, the more usable the Valley is to Tourons......,John Muir knew and fought against this 100 years ago...,It's a terrible double edged sword with a "short" sword as back up.
That's "one", reason they took out the Gas station and the Rivers camp grounds...But the people kept coming, and the over priced food at every where in the Valley is getting worse and worse...
No easy,simple solutions....
Tough questions in tough times with severe potential consequences.
Thanks James for stepping "up" and doing the right thing. We all could learn a lesson.
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nutjob
Trad climber
Berkeley, CA
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Jun 27, 2010 - 10:53pm PT
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I'm all for limiting the impact of folks there, but taking a stand against trashcans is just plain stupid. It's not like "build it and they will come." People come because there are bus stops, parking spots with cars already there, and lots of climber hangers-on staring up at El Cap with telescopes and cameras, and other people come and say "oh what are you looking at?"
It's not like having trashcans to reduce a trash problem is going to cause a proliferation of people using the place.
So I say put the darn trashcans there to address the short-term problem, and continue addressing the long-term problem of more people than the resources can support without damage to the resources. That is already happening via a formal planning process, no?
p.s. Climbers are tourons too. Except Werner and whoever else lives there year round.
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Kalimon
Trad climber
Ridgway, CO
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Jun 27, 2010 - 11:39pm PT
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We are all tourons in the eyes of the original Valley inhabitants . . . climbers should be more self sufficient and not sh#t in the woods anywhere in the Valley. Leave no trace! Oh yeah, except for abandoned water bottles, chalk marks, cigarette butts, fixed anchors, fixed gear, garbage, rotting slings, trails, urine and used tape wads.
Pack it in and pack it out!
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Jun 28, 2010 - 03:29am PT
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I'm in, Bullwinkle, although my back isn't as strong as it was 40 years ago, and I need at least 24 hours lead time because of work commitments.
As for this:
The more Infrastructure, the more usable the Valley is to Tourons
I find this kind of thinking indefensible. What gives us any more right to the Valley than the despised "tourons?" Our forebears set aside Yosemite for them, too.
John
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Watusi
Social climber
Newport, OR
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Jun 28, 2010 - 03:56am PT
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I think it's a good idea Dean.
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papu
Sport climber
chennai,tamilnadu
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Jun 28, 2010 - 04:56am PT
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I like the idea of trash cans at EC Meadow. However, putting them near the bear boxes will mean that about 90% of visitors won't see/use them. Maybe put some discrete signs on the meadow side of the bridge telling tourons where the trash cans are? Regardless, if putting them by the bear boxes cuts down the trash in the meadow, then do it.
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Jingy
Social climber
Nowhere
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Jun 28, 2010 - 10:37am PT
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Locker says "Of all places to litter...
I mean...
Obviously one "SHUD" not litter ANYWHERE...
But it absolutly amazes me how fuking TRASHED that place is..."
People, who are not so "leave no trace" oriented... (read: mass public) have no idea what leave no trace means....
so... they leave traces of themselves and their homes everywhere... even in US National Parks.
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pud
climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
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Jun 28, 2010 - 10:54am PT
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This and enforcement may be a solution.
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Wade Icey
Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
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Jun 28, 2010 - 01:20pm PT
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You've been around the Valley long enough to know better.
Since it's obvious that NPS isn't dealing with this why not pick it up yourself?
Facelift coming up.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jun 28, 2010 - 01:26pm PT
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It might be interesting to thoroughly work through some high-use areas such as El Cap Meadow during the FaceLift, and document everything that's found. Weight, nature of garbage, distribution, etc. Then do it again next year, using the same boundaries and methodology, and see what can be learned.
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ron gomez
Trad climber
fallbrook,ca
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Jun 28, 2010 - 01:31pm PT
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I'll be glad to help ya Dean, shoot me an email or ringalingding me and I'll be there! Hope all is well with you.
Peace
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pc
climber
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Jun 28, 2010 - 01:35pm PT
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Great idea MH. You might not even need 2 years worth of data. A good spreadsheet and some photos will go a long way.
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JesseM
Social climber
Yosemite
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Jun 28, 2010 - 04:48pm PT
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Thanks for bringing this up again Bullwinkle. I'm working on it right now--for real.
El Cap Meadows is not the only place that gets trashed in the Park. The Facelift is a testament to that fact, every year we pick up trash from all over the park, and often there is a trash can close by. Someone else said that we need to address the root cause of the problem. I agree. Educating kids, park visitors, etc. to pick up their litter, reduce, reuse, and recycle is the sustainable solution. If we as a society did this well (not just the NPS) our cultural norm would be to not litter, to reduce our use of disposable materials, and to recycle or reuse the items we do use.
That said, I put in a request for two trash cans to be placed at El Cap Bridge near the food storage lockers. If they do get installed—and I hope they do by this weekend—try not to fill them up with significant amounts of your wall trash (use the dumpsters at Manure Pile) so other visitors will have a place to put their trash. It will be interesting to see if it will really cut down on the littering. At least it will give us a place to put the trash we pick up!
Jesse McGahey
Climbing Ranger
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Captain...or Skully
Big Wall climber
Transporter Room 2
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Jun 28, 2010 - 05:05pm PT
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Word. Thanks for your Efforts, Jesse.
And for your concerns, Dean.
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