A Hiker’s Lament

As I sit in the Matheson Lake parking lot filled with abject rage at the people who feel that our hiking and walking trails are their own personal garbage can, it dawns on me that I need therapy. That and there are no doubt countless people that make the minor effort to pick up litter, even though it’s not theirs, because they hold the belief that it has in fact been become their problem.

So a shout out to every person that sees a problem and helps to solve it, even though they didn’t create it. That includes our friends that complete the seemingly thankless job of picking up after the litter bugs. More broadly, to the Victoria volunteer community that steps up to make our community a better place. Cheers to you!

To circle back, if you’re one of the people that see litter and don’t care, maybe you’ll consider picking it up next time. From a purely selfish perspective, it feels good knowing that you’ve not only got your exercise in but that you simultaneously made the trail better for the next person and our animal friends.

If you’re one of the people that dropped the candy bar wrapper partial (x2), party napkins (stack), filled dog poop bag, banana (right beside the lake), banana sticker (off the banana, and on the trail 20m away), and a light bulb (not even joking), please be better.