Obits | The Dickinson Press thedickinsonpress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thedickinsonpress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
JULIAN
Residents of Julian, Mount Laguna and the Cleveland National Forest are asking people who visit the mountain areas to revel in the snow to do what the signs say: “Pack it in, Pack it out.”
Photos shared by the U.S. Forest Service over the past few days show dirty public restrooms, toppled trash cans, and boxes, bags and broken sleds left behind, apparently by visitors who came to play in the region’s higher elevations last week.
On Monday, Julian resident Virginia Duval picked up five bags of trash along state Route 79, near a popular hill for sledding in the area. The trash she collected was spread over several acres of land, and she recounted some of her findings.
This week’s storm dumped up to 2 feet of snow on some slopes.
“We aren’t Big Bear or Mountain High,” Kathy Ewing-Finley said. “We don’t have any designated snow-play areas, so when people arrive ready to play . their plan is already set on trespassing and illegal behavior before they even get out of the car.”
Advertisement
Eva Hatch, who lives in Julian and has a website called Mountain Made, said the backcountry is not designed to accommodate the spontaneous and large number of visitors.
“Our local emergency agencies are staffed to accommodate the local population, and staff is not increased on busy tourism days,” Hatch said. “There is no local government entity to clean up after the visitors. Additionally, we have no way to dispose of the trash left behind.”