
The Embarrassing History of Crap Thrown into Yellowstone’s Geysers - camtarn
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/yellowstone-geysers-trash-garbage
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10+ years ago I visited Yellowstone in the winter, and thought it would be
cool to rent a snowmobile.

I've never felt like such a jerk as when I blazed into a national park
alongside dozens of other yahoos atop our loud, polluting machines spewing
exhaust everywhere. Our group, from one rental company, would periodically
cross paths with groups from other companies, so who knows how many of us
there actually were.

At one point en elk or moose or such was near the road, and it was immediately
surrounded by ten or so snowmobiles, each trying to see how close they could
get before taking a photo.

I looked it up at the time and I think the Clinton administration tried to
curtail the snowmobile invasion, only to face such opposition from operators
that they gave up.

This is why we can't have nice things, I guess.

~~~
Theodores
I cycled through Yellowstone, down from Montana. I had high hopes for the
place in part because I was meeting some friends there and it was
Yellowstone!!! Yet, by the time I got there I had seen the big fauna/flora I
was expecting to be 'park exclusive'. So, bear walks across the road, straight
in front of me in broad daylight, I think 'just a bear!' not realising that
this just does not happen. Instead I am thinking of how great it will be to
finally get to the park where I can see the bears properly!!!

So, by accident of circumstance, I ventured through the park the low-carbon
way, without the RV, snowmobile, hunting rifle, BBQ, plastic chairs or
anything else. I was amazed the park had dual carriageways with overpasses for
the traffic. I found my time in the park to be slightly frustrating and the
time in the greater area more satisfying. The hordes of RV tourists and their
eagerness to photo anything that moved was probably the thing that made it not
so fun to be in the park.

I should say that bicycle + Yellowstone is a very good option as you can camp
anywhere in the National Park campgrounds with no expectation to book. The RV
people have to book aeons in advance and can't just casually turn up before
dusk to get a pitch.

I am sure that cyclists annoy motorists on the park roads, it is apparent that
you are annoying others - queue of traffic behind says that. But I am not sure
motorists are aware that they might be a 'yahoo' of sorts. I am not sure that
being a 'yahoo' is actually that wrong, perhaps it is the regular RV that is
more insidious, as there the RV owner has taken everything to the park that
cyclist types like myself have gone to the park to escape! TVs, motors,
outside music - all nice things but nuisance and unnecessary too.

Obviously the park should be closed to all traffic that emits emissions, to
make the place a nice drive for Tesla owners and cyclists. Then we could have
lots of people driving their ICE car to the park to then hire some electric
transportation. That would be better income for the snowmobile operator types.

~~~
dsfyu404ed
it is apparent that you are annoying others - queue of traffic behind says
that

Fun fact: lots of states have something like "if there's more than X cars
following you you should pull over and let them pass" in their driver's
manuals and driver's ed programs.

>to make the place a nice drive for Tesla owners and cyclists

So basically rich people and a few non-rich people who are really dedicated to
cycling. That seems to be a pretty much direct contradiction with the purpose
of the national parks.

~~~
Theodores
Oh I completely understand about accessibility but then...

Let's build those motorways up to the geysers and up to those mountain tops
and maybe straight to the bottom of the Grand Canyon too! It is only fair if
every person is to be able to get there.

In the 'ban ICE vehicles' model you could walk or go on horseback. However,
logistically a bicycle would make the most sense due to miles covered per
calorie.

Poor people have no more rights than rich people to trash the planet with
their vehicle emissions. These people that are 'really dedicated to their
motoring' do not have a clue about how their actions deny the road to others,
e.g. those that would cycle if they were not scared of motorists.

Now if there were bus services (non ICE!) in National Parks then everyone
would be able to get around, right? But public transport is an insult to
American values.

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sizzzzlerz
I like the one from last year where some idiot decided to have a soak in a hot
spring so he and his sister went into a off-limits area of a geyser basin.
Attempting to test the waters at one with his fingers, he slipped and fell in.
By the time the rangers got there, his body was at the bottom of the pool but,
due to a lightning storm, they had to abandon recovery until the next day.
When they got there the following morning, the body was mostly gone, having
been dissolved by the acidic waters.

~~~
anaximander
What is there to like about such an event?

~~~
anigbrowl
One less foolish person to deal with. It's awful when something like this
happens to a child but adults who are wilfully stupid about their own safety
often seem equally comfortable inflicting their stupidity on everyone else.

It's one thing to take a calculated risk and die because the gamble didn't pay
off or you made some error in your risk calculus. It's quite another to just
ignore the clearest possible warnings that something is a Bad Idea That Will
Kill You. I don't really feel any sympathy in the latter case.

~~~
diebir
Soaking in most springs in the Park is illegal. However, the illegality is not
based on the level of danger for a given spring.

Soaking is a great idea if done carefully. There are several places in YNP
where it is allowed, officially or semi-officially.

In fact, every time I visit Yellowstone NP (like 5 times a year) it strikes me
how silly it is that people are kept and are happy to stay on boardwalks and
paved roads. They might just as well watch the BBC documentary and save
everyone the trouble. If you are outdoors you should hike, swim, wade and
sense the warm thermal waters. YNP is the most regulated and civilized park I
know. I think this is sad.

Driving to Yellowstone on an interstate is probably more dangerous anyway.

~~~
mirimir
Soaking _in_ a hot spring seems unnecessarily risky. There's too much chance
of substantial temperature change. Better to soak in a pool that's fed from a
hot spring. Rather than mess with park police, find hot springs where it's
allowed.

~~~
dboreham
Locals know places where it is relatively safe to soak in the hot water. Heck,
you can go to Chico and pay a few bucks there to soak in the same water at no
risk and drink a beer..

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sly010
I proposed my wife in front of the "original" Geyser (actually the functioning
one right next to it) in Iceland. The night we posted a photo a friend of mine
emailed me asking if I was the a7le who threw the red paint into the Geyser. I
didn't know what he was talking about, until I checked the news. Turns out an
hour after we left, some "artist" decided that a pink geyser is going to be
his art [0].

While I cannot resist wondering about the possibility of proposing in front of
a pink Geysir ... still ... what the f4k is wrong with people?

[0] [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3055145/Chilean-
arti...](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3055145/Chilean-artist-
jailed-dyeing-Iceland-s-famous-natural-hot-spring-PINK-food-colouring.html)

~~~
yohui
Better news source: [http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-
elsewhere-32496258](http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-
elsewhere-32496258)

He was ultimately acquitted on a technicality:
[http://icelandreview.com/news/2016/07/06/pink-geyser-
project...](http://icelandreview.com/news/2016/07/06/pink-geyser-project-
artist-acquitted)

Some valid points were raised in the man's defense (e.g. the food coloring
dissipated fairly quickly) though I can't say I approve.

On a side note, it seems any mention of the controversy has been scrubbed from
his Wikipedia entry:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Evaristti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Evaristti)

~~~
Chris2048
Details have been removed from the Wikipedia page?

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gumby
Human nature is, well, nature. But you can take advantage of it as well.

Ever noticed the nice Gaussian distribution of people at a beach? There's a
huge number of people close to the path from the parking lot, but the number
of people drops off steeply with each step you take away from the entrance.

You'll find this elsewhere: I personally avoid national and CA state parks
because they are crowded and pretty much ban dogs (a rule I support even
though it keeps me out of them too). Wilderness areas, which are much less
developed, or not developed at all, require a little bit of walking so are
usually empty, and again, the farther you go from the parking lot the
exponentially lower probability you have of encountering another person (or
litter etc).

This is true of hunting season too (in CA): you see hunters in their cars
parked by the side of the road, but hike in even a mile and you can't even
hear a bang. (On the other hand in Minnesota I saw people out with their sled
dogs all over the place).

PS: on the dog thing: a poorly trained dog can really upset the wildlife, and
even a well trained dog that sticks next to you will affect the fauna. I
always camp with a dog, but I am aware of how it affects my ability to Leave
No Trace.

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nxrabl
Looks like someone at Atlas Obscura listens to the No Such Thing As A Fish
podcast [0] (Episode 160). Not that they shouldn't, it's a great show.

[0]: [http://qi.com/podcast/](http://qi.com/podcast/)

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gcb0
we should start a video link thread!

first one with excellent cameramanship
[https://youtu.be/WKoXUIJBC-4](https://youtu.be/WKoXUIJBC-4)

~~~
gcb0
now a click bait title
[https://youtu.be/Cv4QozXG8Yg](https://youtu.be/Cv4QozXG8Yg)

