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Report unknown scenic spots?
Yes! Knowledgable locals be damned.
23%
 23%  [ 12 ]
No! Keep all the hikers on well-known trails.
76%
 76%  [ 40 ]
Total Votes : 52

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Malachai Constant
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Malachai Constant
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PostWed Jul 29, 2020 12:28 pm 
Talking about Bath Lakes High Route and actually completing it are two very different things. Mere mortals are usually content with Sulfur Mountain, Miners Ridge, or Canyon Lake.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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texasbb
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texasbb
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PostWed Jul 29, 2020 12:33 pm 
This is approximately the 3,584th time we've been over this, and frankly, it's getting old. Let's switch. May I suggest: guns, dogs, hunting, mountain bikes, cairns, billing for SAR, packing out poop, wolves, grizzlies, user fees, bigfoot, PC renaming of peaks, blurry waterfall pictures, compass vs gps, preserving historical structures in wilderness, campfires, who yields to whom, chainsaws to clear wilderness trails, drones, tent footprints, boots vs trail runners, trekking pole length, drinking untreated water, keeping food in the tent, horse poop on trails, supported FKTs. Not COVID masks, though.

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Waterman
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PostWed Jul 29, 2020 12:38 pm 
Back in the day the great Reinhold Meissner wrote an essay on the need to have blank spots on a map or as he called it "white areas". No identifying features. An area where you had to find out for yourself. Of course this was pre internet.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost
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Cyclopath
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PostWed Jul 29, 2020 1:10 pm 
slabbyd wrote:
A day or two later in a stadium full of people, a couple guys behind me were excitedly talking about the TR, how they had never heard of it and how they needed to get there.
up.gif Got to love passion.

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Anne Elk
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PostWed Jul 29, 2020 2:12 pm 
Washakie wrote:
The clostest thing to a secrete spot is one that is really difficult to get to...many may know of it, but few are willing to take the effort or time to go there.
That's what I used to think about certain places, but the bar to entry seems to keep getting higher. The Mt Constance trail used to be fairly empty on weekdays in the early 80's. No longer. Not sure if the current obstacles have made a difference, and I believe it's now a reservations-only camp spot. I think it requires a lot more pain for a place to stay secret, ie, no official trail, long distance, significant brush-bashing, bug-infested access route, climbing skills required. (Pick 3). biggrin.gif

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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rossb
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PostWed Jul 29, 2020 3:31 pm 
There is posting, and there is posting. If you post on TikToc, Facebook, or something similar and put pictures, and say something like "it isn't an official trail, but it isn't that hard", then you will likely rot in hell. hockeygrin.gif OK, not that bad, but please don't. On the other hand, if you post in "Thread for lazy trip reports" then it is probably OK. Not that many people read those, and the main benefit are for those who search. That in itself means that only people who have found that spot (some lake or unnamed peak with only a marked altitude) will find it. The service you are providing may balance out the harm you are doing to those that found out the hard way. Personally, I just don't post those type of reports. I don't see much benefit. If I post an update to say, Dickerman, saying the waterfall is not melted out (and you should bring an ice axe) I may actually save someone's life. But if I post a glowing report about some obscure peak, it is just as likely that I will attract someone to that peak that really shouldn't be there (because the scrambling is too hard). In my opinion, the main benefit of trip reports is not to expose some little known, special area. It is to report on trail conditions, so that people may more safely travel to that area.

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schifferj
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PostWed Jul 29, 2020 3:49 pm 
I went to a (not so) secret spot last week. Along the way I met people from NY, MO, CO, CA, WY trekking up to a spot where one, maybe two campsites were available. Where they all dispersed I have no idea. But there they were.

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pula58
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PostWed Jul 29, 2020 5:11 pm 
what's worse: Posting about a special place, which will cause more numbers of people to visit said place, and make a firepits, cut wood with a saw, trample the heather, creating trails due to repetitively walking to the water source, etc. (and that's what will happens if the multitudes find out about the place). Or, finding a spot that seems pristine and keeping it a secret. Well, perhaps both are "sins" but I'd rather err on the one that leaves the place pristine. Selfish? Maybe, but I would rather err on the side of selfish than to "advertise" a special place and have it ending up trashed.

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JonnyQuest
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PostWed Jul 29, 2020 5:43 pm 
Wait, how will everyone know how awesome I am if I don't publicly document my accomplishments?

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Malachai Constant
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Malachai Constant
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PostWed Jul 29, 2020 5:47 pm 
Pretty simple I do not post pictures to public forums. I do not give beta unless it it already well known. Only post to NWH lazy reports to give special conditions snow, washouts, and bad roads. Already have been most every where by now.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Ski
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PostWed Jul 29, 2020 5:55 pm 
texasbb wrote:
This is approximately the 3,584th time we've been over this, and frankly, it's getting old. Let's switch. May I suggest: guns, dogs, hunting, mountain bikes, cairns, billing for SAR, packing out poop, wolves, grizzlies, user fees, bigfoot, PC renaming of peaks, blurry waterfall pictures, compass vs gps, preserving historical structures in wilderness, campfires, who yields to whom, chainsaws to clear wilderness trails, drones, tent footprints, boots vs trail runners, trekking pole length, drinking untreated water, keeping food in the tent, horse poop on trails, supported FKTs. Not COVID masks, though.
^ THIS wink.gif

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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TellimaChris
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PostWed Jul 29, 2020 7:02 pm 
Thanks for all the opinions, and sorry if this has been over many times before. I've decided not to post reports like this about such scenic and poorly-known locations. Finding those spots on your own without following internet instructions is so valuable that I wouldn't want to diminish that. I'm torn because I'm so moved by the thought of sharing such an amazing and special experience. But unfortunately, the very act of sharing diminishes said experience.

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Routes
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PostWed Jul 29, 2020 7:58 pm 
The most fun would be for you to have us guess. Just give us the general region and a few clues, topographical features or other, and see who can guess your location first.

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Bosterson
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PostWed Jul 29, 2020 8:26 pm 
TellimaChris wrote:
I'm torn because I'm so moved by the thought of sharing such an amazing and special experience.
But you can still tell your friends! Just tell them in person. smile.gif

Go! Take a gun! And a dog! Without a leash! Chop down a tree! Start a fire! Piss wherever you want! Build a cairn! A HUGE ONE! BE A REBEL! YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE! (-bootpathguy)
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neek
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PostThu Jul 30, 2020 10:19 am 
Randito wrote:
Given the availability of high resolution satellite imagery and stuff like Strava Heat Maps the concept of "secret" locations is silly.
Don't know what you're talking about.
Public gaia tracks are becoming a thing too. Can't fight the technology. Best to educate, enforce, provide, accept. The problem of social media focusing attention on particular spots, like the sun through a magnifying glass, is real. Need to keep up the positive pressure so folks want to do the right thing.

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