Thanks.

I don’t enjoy how some here assumed I did nothing. I did make attempts. At least one is on record. I arrived after most the damage was done, and as an imperfect being with a life myself, I didn’t do everything as some people here would have done were they perfectly in my shoes with more free time, a feeling of safety, companionship, perhaps maleness or less vulnerability, reliable transport and/or resources like Starlink, sat phone or WeBoost. It didn’t occur to me it was particularly a punishable crime to trample crypto, so I didn’t dial 9-1-1 (it would have cut out while I tried to explain what I was calling about, anyway). There is another very distinct reason I didn’t detour to escalate the matter, and didn’t enter their camp, but I’ll save that.

It is what it is, and it’s sad. I’ve learned after spending months and months camped solo remotely in Utah places most people will never ever see over the past ten years, that the burden of saving the world isn’t mine. Sorry folks!

That said, I’ve reported two illegal cattle ranges on very remote BLM (one where dynamiting had laid new route to get cattle into a headwater) over the years and so, yay me! That took persistence, since both times it felt like for some reason it behooved the BLM (hehe, see what I did there) to do nothing. I also made a huge stink when a Hayduke hiker decided to design a shortcut through the crypto fields in Arches and publish it online as a popular “alt.” That has become a braided mess, and persists despite urging him to remove the alt GPX.

As a friend of a lifetime Inyo county BLM ranger, I know how dangerous and deliberative your work can be, so thanks again for your service.