I can’t stand  graffiti. Something about it just screams immaturity. You really can’t go anywhere without writing your name all over everything?

So it pisses me off even more when people destroy nature with their sophomoric attempts at “art” or “marking territory.”

An example of graffiti we came across on a boulder while hiking in Angeles National Forest.

For starters, it’s not art. It’s crap. Especially in nature. The great outdoors is infinitely more beautiful than your dumb drawings.

Most importantly, it’s not your territory. Not even close. It’s everybody’s territory. When you tag a rock, or carve your name into an aspen tree, or practice any other similar display of stupidity, you are desecrating sacred places.

Nature is a temple, after all.

You have a responsibility to preserve our wilderness areas for future generations. Your children’s children should have the opportunity to hike the same pristine patch of woods you hiked 100 years ago.

Maybe we need to emphasize Leave No Trace ethics more in schools and in public. Leave No Trace is about as self-explanatory as possible. Basically, don’t leave a trace. How easy is that? So easy, even the idiots who tag nature could possibly grasp the philosophy.

I’d love to hear your ideas on how to prevent graffiti in nature. Personally, I’m losing all hope. I was on a hike yesterday up near San Francisco when I came across a really cool rock spire that was unfortunately full of graffiti. The idea of setting up a wildlife camera trap to catch the morons came to mind, but what’s the point?