Man Inherits the Consequence

     The wilderness is the only true sanctuary for mankind. There is a certain and untainted feeling of serenity that is only attained, when you are in nothing more than the presence of nature. The raw majesty that this world has to offer us is nearly indescribable. The sense of clarity that overcomes a person when they detach from the tribulations of the modern world, and return to their roots is like none other.  The connection of man to the dirt from whence he came is a paramount personal development. However, these astounding, prolific, or down right spiritual experiences that we have available to us are ultimately finite. There must be cohesion between what the earth provides to us and what we take.

     This planet is splendid, and what a blessing it is that we have this gorgeous place to spend our existences. However, and this obviously comes as no surprise, some people have taken their home for granted. How many times must we be reminded that the earth, as resilient as it may seem, is only as durable as we allow. In other words, we need to start taking care of our planet or we will reap the loss.  

     I have recently moved back home to my hometown of Colorado Springs, Colorado. I have never been more ecstatic to be anywhere, knowing that I can once again call the greatest place on God’s green earth my home. I have a deep love for this city, but from a young age, my parents instilled me with a fascination for nature. They made sure that I understood how incredibly lucky I was to have the opportunity to grow up in an environment where my backyard was heaven on earth. I grew up a stone’s throw away from destinations that some people spend their whole lives dreaming about. I grew up in a state that has inspired legendary works of art. But this lovely slice of nirvana has become victim to laziness and blatant disrespect.  

     One of the very first days that I was home, I went on a hike in an area called Old Stage Road with a great friend of mine. It was beautiful, it was refreshing, and most importantly it was everything I had missed about Colorado. I was home and I was at peace.  But as the day progressed, a somber feeling of disappointment was cast over us. As we continued our trek through the mountains, my friend showed me several areas that were not only littered with tremendous amounts of garbage, but there was visible damage to the landscape that was the result of both negligence and malice. The damage done to an area that had been maintained in such a pristine manner in my memories was surreal. It felt like I had been gone for hundreds of years and I was being shown some kind of post-apocalyptic wasteland.

     When vandalism of this magnitude happens to something that is loved by so many, it does not go unnoticed. And normally drawing attention to an issue like this would be a good thing, except for the fact that the Sheriff’s department was the one tasked with cleaning up this mess.

     The El Paso County Sheriffs department is posted up all along the main access points to various sections of Old Stage Road as they are on the lookout for hood rats, who are trying to do hood rat shit. I for one am grateful that they have put a foot down, and that they have made a presence in an attempt to police up the unruly out-of-towners, the mouth-breathers, the abusers, the straight up idiots, and anyone else who is destroying our wonderful mountain ranges. Despite my respect for what the sheriff’s department is doing up there, I must admit that I feel conflicted by their presence. I keep referring back to the freedom and serenity that one can feel in nature, but those feelings get a little harder to come by when the 5-0 is monitoring your hike. It’s kind of difficult to feel at one with nature when there are camera’s that are normally reserved for monitoring wildlife, that are now being used to ensure that you don’t leave your clif bar wrappers and your empty beer cases on the ground, a place that a great deal  of people have somehow mistaken for a dumpster. It seems like we’re at a catch twenty-two; on one hand we don’t want the po-po sticking their noses in our times of exploration, but we also can’t keep letting simple minded shit heads destroy what we love. What are we to do with this situation? Well how about for starters, we clean up after ourselves so that the police don’t have to monitor yet another facet of our lives.

     The problem that we are faced with here is grand in its magnitude and potential for irreversible damage, but the solution is elementary. With just a little bit of physical effort we can begin to make a tangible difference on the way that we will leave this earth. The time for ideologies is over.  

     The very grounds that we love to worship as our home have been desecrated, and we have done nothing about it. Sure, we’ve talked about it… A LOT. As a matter of fact, the condition of the earth is one of the most talked about issues in the American media.  There are more commercials, more ads full of guilt, and more self-indulgent political agendas that are all based on the idea of saving the earth than we have heart strings to be pulled upon. Yet our actions remain stagnant. We remain the steadfast, stewards of nothing. The trend of caring has become more important than the actual act of caring. So instead of talking about changing the world, or relying on some other entity to do it for you,  go get your hands dirty and start making a difference. For those of you in the Colorado Springs area, The Bearded Bastards Off-Road Club has set aside time on this upcoming Saturday June 8, 2019 to pick up garbage and do some restoration work along Old Stage Road. If you are interested in helping or have any questions at all, please refer to any of the links or contacts below. For those of you reading this anywhere else in the country, whether or not you are a disciple of the outdoors, I hope that I have peaked your interest and your cognizance, in the importance of caring for this wonderful home that we have.

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