What is your biggest public land pet-peeve?

[rclouse79]

I was glassing with a friend last night and our peaceful evening was interrupted by a loud 2 stroke engine. We proceeded to watch a chunky dude start and stop his motorcycle a dozen times while trying to make his way up an old logging roads clogged with downed trees. The only silver lining to the situation was watching his lazy ass tip over a couple times. He finally busted off the logging road and flew past us on the top of the hill while churning up dust and digging a trench in the ground the whole way. I was prepared to tell the dude what I though of him, but he didn't acknowledge my presence as he sped past me at 20 yards. I then watched him go a quarter of a mile up a roadless hillside, leaving a dusty scar behind him the entire way. I know it is not legal to take atvs off trail and the number of tracks I see on the side of the hill really pisses me off. I am tempted to buy a paintball gun and pack it with me in hopes I run into that guy again. I can't imagine a more satisfying feeling than lighting his fat ass up while he is out breaking trail at high speed. It is fat lazy selfish douches like this that get areas shut down and ruin it for everyone.

I feel much better now. Thanks for the vent session.

 

[Customweld]

Folks who leave their camps set in the same spot all summer and fall. Off trail abuse is second.

 

[bsnedeker]

It's worse for me when it's in a designated wilderness. Unfortunately I run into dirt bikers in wilderness areas fairly regularly. It is infuriating.

 

[zacattack]

My biggest pet peeve regardless of where it is people

 

[Blackcow]

Trailer hobos. Van lifers. Boondockers. Whatever you want to call them.

 

[zion zig zag]

Side by sides. They are literally changing places that I have gone and loved for decades. Not only do they tear up the forest service roads, but they drive everywhere. Why walk the 200 yards from the existing road to the creek? Just ride your side by side across that soft meadow! I was camping in a valley last summer during a scouting trip that used to be peaceful and quiet and it was a non stop parade of side by sides spinning and roosting the dirt road till the wee hours. Worse than that, one camp full of people was letting their kids drive the side by sides all day long, at one point they were literally doing doughnuts in the creek making the mountain stream muddy for miles. I've seen countless gates at the end of roads that have a side by side sized go arounds at them now.

I've got no problems with people who use them responsibly, but that seems to be pretty few and far between, giving them all a bad name.

 

[Poser]

Around here, I’d say Side by sides, aka the Texas Wheelchair, are the most offensive and consistent offenders of both disruption and destruction. Snowmobiles can be pretty ******* annoying that with the way the throttles are set but don’t do much actual damage so I try not to complain about the aesthetic offenses.

All in all my single biggest pet peeve is trash, of which hunters may be one of the most significant and consistent offenders, accept it or not, but a close second could be hunters who have that resentful look on their faces as they are, unsurprisingly, encountering lots of other people and user groups on popular trail systems and act like they are the only ones who should be there. If they leave trash and drive side by sides in destructive manner, they they are scum of the earth. If they do all of that are are fat and from Texas, they are Spawn of Satan and should be sterilized.

 

[Ten Bears]

Litter. I feel like those who litter also do every other horrible thing on public land. It’s like the gateway drug to being an asshole.

 

[Like2hunt]

I agree. People making new trails and ruining good hunting and camping spots just because they're too lazy to walk to them. Trash is also pretty bad around here. It seems like just when your getting into a area with no people sign you look over and a old beer can or bottle or something.

 

[rclouse79]

My biggest pet peeve regardless of where it is people

Agreed, I specifically work hard to access areas where I am likely to experience solitude. It is always a bummer running into others, but it is x1000 when those people have accessed the area illegally while ripping up the landscape in the process.

 

[rclouse79]

Litter. I feel like those who litter also do every other horrible thing on public land. It’s like the gateway drug to being an asshole.

While hiking up we discovered a turd with toilet paper on the side of the logging road. It was probably left behind by the same fat bastard on the motorcycle. Rarely is complete disregard of common decency isolated to one area.

 

[chasewild]

Another vote for building new trails (MTB, OHV, etc.), or going off trail with motorized.

 

[Fisherhahn]

I agree with all of the pet peeves listed. BUT, do any of you call the appropriate agency to complain, if they are actually in violation of land use? If they are legally invading your space and being loud about it, nothing you can do, we share the land with everyone. I have started being the pain in the ass that will keep appropriate numbers stored in my phone and will call a LOT. I take pictures of atvs on trails they shouldn’t be and email those when I can. One time it did help, person was caught and fined. Haven’t seen them back. More often than not, there is not much of a response, but that one time makes it worth it

 

[Overthefalls]

Pet Peeves in order:

1. Trash from land users: clearly you enjoy public land enough to go out and recreate (awesome!). But care so little that land that you throw trash everywhere?!?

Side note: There is another type offender, those who are not there to recreate and instead are there just to dump their trash. Not sure which is worse honestly.

2. This one is funny because I myself do this, but I am trying to get better. People who act entitled X area because I've been coming here since X or it's been MY deer/ elk/ bear spot.

Public land is just that... public. I appreciate my solitude and like to imagine I have my own little slices that no one else knows about, but that is not reality. If people happen upon one of "my" spots through their own exploration, that's great!

 

[nettereo16]

Mylar ballons!!!
People let their kids let these things go in the suburbs and they inevitably end up crashing in my hunt spots!

 

[elkyinzer]

Squatting. When people put up stands, blinds, cameras, and leave them in the woods. Even if not intended to it creates a defacto reservation system for those of us that try to avoid headaches and conflict.

 

[FLAK]

Gotta be the trash dumpers.
Was deer hunting once watching a gas line that runs through NF property.
Guy pulls up about 200 yards away and I watch him clean out the bed of his truck.
Just last year was fishing a favorite mtn. creek back home 4.5 hrs away (NF Land). I was up under a bridge and heard a car stop on the bridge. Seconds later someone throws out 2 WalMart bags full of trash into the creek.
Both of these people should be beat unconscious with a garden hose.

 

[540-Virginian]

Mylar ballons!!!
People let their kids let these things go in the suburbs and they inevitably end up crashing in my hunt spots!

As much as I hate seeing them, they can be a hunters golden ticket:

Stray Balloons Can Reveal Big-Buck Bedding Areas

Do deflated mylar balloons have a correlation with deer bedding areas? Dan Infalt discusses the connection and other ways to scout bedding areas.

bowhunting360.com

 

[rclouse79]

I agree with all of the pet peeves listed. BUT, do any of you call the appropriate agency to complain, if they are actually in violation of land use? If they are legally invading your space and being loud about it, nothing you can do, we share the land with everyone. I have started being the pain in the ass that will keep appropriate numbers stored in my phone and will call a LOT. I take pictures of atvs on trails they shouldn’t be and email those when I can. One time it did help, person was caught and fined. Haven’t seen them back. More often than not, there is not much of a response, but that one time makes it worth it

I wish I could have got license plate numbers, but never had the opportunity. I have reported illegal blinds to fish and game. Sadly they are stretched so thin they often only have time to deal with the most serious violations. I gained this bit of insight after talking with a very nice officer about the blind infraction. I will have to stick to shaming fat atv users on the internet for now while fantasizing about shooting them with paintballs.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Trailer hobos. Van lifers. Boondockers. Whatever you want to call them.

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