[pct-l] Attn. Thur Hikers

[Amanda L Silvestri]

Today I was at Silverwood Lake between Deep Creek and Cajon Pass.  I went to one of the picnic pavilions to set up and do some trail magic.  What I found was a ton of litter.  Among the trash were pages from the PCT Trail Guide Book and Halfmile's maps, indicating that the mess was made by Thur hikers.  There also were Cliff Bar wrappers, silver foil wrappers, a lot of Ziploc bags and other assorted packaging for instant mixes, etc.  
 
The staff at this state park has been real nice to the hiker community, allowing you to stealth camp reather than making you pay.  Although they are supposed to charge $10/car per day, they have been allowing me free passage to set up and feed you guys as you pass through.  
 
Leaving a mess like this is not the kind of image our community needs.  I cleaned up the area and collected five plastic bags full of litter.  Not all of it was from our hikers, but I felt that I had to leave the general area in better shape than I found it to compensate for how It had been left by the hikers who had lunch there yesterday.  I know that a group of hikers lunched there yesterday because I was set up further up the trail yesterday and the hikers I feed then told me so.
 
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't leave our state parks or anywhere, trashed like this again.  You are the Good Will Ambassadors of the trail.  Leave No Trace even when you are not in the wilderness and when no one is watching.  
 
Shepherd