Mt Hood National Forest clean up - Date: Saturday August 15

Clean up details:

Saturday August 15, 11 AM

Meet at ripplebook ranger station. Then move out from there.

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I was out in the Mt Hood national forest the other day and was saddened by many of the camp sites I saw. On top of that there are many signs like this posted around.



The fact that this is needed is deeply troubling. Worse it explicitly says not to shoot trees, yet has is mounted on a tree and has bullet holes in it.

This is an example of a campsite where this sign was posted.


This is what a trash bag, a willingness to help, gloves!, and some time can do.



As I was cleaning this the idea for this thread was born. There are a lot of Tacoma owners in the Portland area. I believe we should get together and take a day to clean up as many spots as we can in the Mt Hood national forest.

Recently in nearby Tillamook state forest they closed the area to dispersed camping. This is also how we lose the privilege of being able to shoot on public land with few restrictions. The closure didn't last that long and has ended. It could become permanent though if something isn't done.

So here is my plan. I need your help. We set a date and gather as many volunteers as possible to help clean up the forest.

In preparation we will need to scout out as many camp sites as possible that need a visit to clean them up. We get a list of gps coordinates. We get a list of volunteers. Depending on how many people we have we split up into groups. Everything can be mapped out in Gaia gps. We meet up, see who actually shows up and split up into groups. Each group will have a general route of gps coordinates and go out and clean up sites.

We can make an impact on keeping these areas open.

I will help coordinate the effort with your help.

Non Tacoma peeps welcome of course!


Suggestions welcomed!

I will bring a trailer to help haul out the garbage.


Items you should bring:

Gloves!
Heavy duty trash bags
??

Optional:

Collapsible rake
Tarp
Flat shovel


WHAT WE NEED:

More volunteers

Looking for people who have access to a dumpster they are allowed to throw trash in. Not your apt dumpster, or anything like that. Perhaps you work for a construction company and they would be cool with adding some weight to the dumpster, in name of a good cause, or something similar.

Not looking for any dumpsters that you don't have explicit permission to use for this purpose.

 

Thanks for cleaning that mess up. Great idea, as well. I'd like to participate in any northern WA camp ground / trail cleanups. (Hood is a bit out of my reach while working 7 days a week).

 

I’m in. This is a great idea.

 

I'd like to help. I took a drive up the Barlow Trail about a month ago and it was in pretty bad shape. I've no ideas for the broken glass problem, though.

 

Sounds good to us. My kiddos need service projects anyway.

 

Awesome, we're off to a great start!

 

Subscribing...

I'm a big fan of this idea and would love to lend a hand.

Big props to your campsite cleanup above. I make a point of cleaning up any campsite I use, because on principle, I want to leave it better than I found it. But also, I don't want to be blamed for someone else's crap by the next person.

There's always a knuckledragger around the corner, ruining things for everyone else. Some people just suck.

One day of heavy cleanup by a team won't solve that problem. I hope you can get a group together and timing works out for this, but ultimately, this needs to be a consistent day to day effort.

 

Tentatively thinking Saturday August 15, 11 AM meet up time.

Thinking we meet at ripplebook ranger station. Then move out from there.

Gives some time for more people to join in.

 

Great idea and way to take charge! I am out of town that weekend, but would like to try if it happens again.

 

godamn i hate people.

 

I’m in if I’m available

 

Setting the date.


Saturday August 15, 11 AM

Meet at ripplebook ranger station. Then move out from there.

Still looking for more peeps to join us.

Looking for general suggestions from anyone who has done something like this before to make it more efficient.

Also still looking for anyone with a way to clean up broken glass spread around in dirt effectively.

 

Hell yeah, here in bend. Let’s figure out how to clean this shit up

 

Best way may be with a rake and a flat shovel. I'm going camping the weekend before and I can test it out.

 

Interested to see your results. This seems like it would work, but also bring a lot of dirt with it. Likely going to have to take all the garbage collected to the dump and pay for it by the pound, unless someone has another ethical way to get rid of it.

 

I reached out to the National Forest for some advice. Haven't gotten any information back yet, but I'll be sure to pass along. I'm sure they'll be more than willing to give us some locations that need some attention as well.

 

Great idea, thank you sir!

 

Does anyone want to post this on facebook and direct people here? The more people we can get to come out there better.

Tacoma not required, though a high clearance vehicle would be best. I don't do facebook personally, or I would post it there myself.

Also looking for people who have access to a dumpster they are allowed to throw trash in. Not your apt dumpster, or anything like that. Perhaps you work for a construction company and they would be cool with adding some weight to the dumpster, in name of a good cause, or something similar.

Not looking for any dumpsters that you don't have permission to use for this purpose.

 

I like your thinking. I spent a summer of my youth living/camping on lake Trillium and hiking Mt Hood to snowboard the halfpipes. I like the idea of keeping my memory lane clean and clear of scumbag litterbug trash. We would always clean up and gather aluminum cans for moar beer $ .I am a bit far away these days but support what you guys are going to do. Stop by the Ratskeller and have a brew for me if that place is still operational.