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Re: [at-l] What would you do?

Although I don't want to get caught up in any religious war over low impact
camping, when I find someone doing somthing that I think is detremental to the
outdoors we are all there to enjoy, I try to enlighten them and help them
understand why what they are doing is wrong.

It's interesting to watch some people react to this. Many take the attitude
that "Hey, this is some intrusive leanto that someone built here, it's not
nature. I can carve it if I want to." Many take the attitude that "nature will
grow another birch tree here or somewhere else if I strip all the bark off to
start my fire."  But many more take the attitude that "I didn't realize that
what I'm going would hurt/harm/pick-a-category anyone," and they stop.

I had a worse-than-necessary run in with a guy cleaning out his paint roller
and pan in a local rver one day. We were finishing a wonderful long weekend
trip on this lazy river and at the takeout this guy was scrubbing his pans in
the sandy bottom. Streams of white paint were already 50 feet out into the
river. I went balistic!

I grabbed this guy and threw him and his dirty painting implements 10 feet
back on the bank. He got up red faced and arms flailing, but I must have
looked even more pissed because he stopped in his tracks. I read him the riot
act and literally chased him back to his car, while he kept muttering about
how this was only latex paint, and it's water soluable, and the rivers full of
junk anyway, etc.  I was angry for hours and never did "do the right thing,"
which would have included education, not violence. I was prepared to smash
this idiot into a pulp if he gave me any more motivation to do so.  Oops.

Paddler (GA>ME 99)
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