Hiker raises questions after witnessing infuriating trend growing on secluded trails: 'Have the rules ... changed?'

A user on Reddit's r/hiking encountered an oddity in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Aptos, California, prompting them to seek perspective from fellow hikers.

"Have the rules to 'leave no trace' changed or something?" was the title of the post, a reference to seven universal principles published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for spending time in nature without harming the wilderness or its wild inhabitants.

Their post included four pictures, one of which depicted a whimsical miniature rope ladder.

The original poster explained that during a series of hikes at Nisene Marks, they'd encountered "clearly human-made little structures" that seemed "cute" at first.

Eventually, the poster stumbled upon a notebook and a jar and began to wonder whether the trend was more harmful than it looked. 

"I thought [the notebook] was littering, but my hiking buddy thought it was fine and liked it. Am I being a killjoy?" they asked.

Nisene Marks is home to at least one noteworthy "full-on Buddhist shrine," POTA News & Reviews reported, and it's not uncommon for hikers to encounter similar spots in wooded areas and on roads worldwide. 

Nature certainly elicits deep feelings of connection, and the desire to leave a mark is understandable, but seemingly innocuous acts in the woods can have unforeseen consequences. Last summer, Yosemite National Park implored visitors to stop building rock cairns, citing Leave No Trace Principles.

The National Park Service explained that while stacked rocks can look harmless, the practice "disturbs the soil," "makes the area more prone to erosion," and disrupts "fragile vegetation and micro ecosystems."

Several commenters admitted they had grown tired of ad hoc shrines on the trails.

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"I hike at a fairly rural spot where the shrines, rock art, etc. started small. Then I guess someone posted it online and now that area is starting to look like a chain email from the 90s," one replied. 

Another user challenged the notion of wiggle room in Leave No Trace.

"That is literally the whole point of LNT though … we LEAVE NO TRACE. Not 'some' trace. not 'cute things.' not 'well it could be worse.' We KNOW it could be worse. That's why we say, 'LEAVE. NO. TRACE,'" another griped.

"That stuff annoys me — why isn't nature enough? People who have to make a Walmart wherever they go — leaving [things], blasting music, no thanks," a third agreed.

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