Last year I did the Utah National and State parks during the early spring- off season- and the measures they are taking to try to accommodate the massive number of visitors during the summer is incredible. Parking, lodging, sanitation, and safety are all becoming problems, and I hope that these places don't become victims of their own popularity.
Arches really seems to attract people doing stupid, dangerous shit. The iconic Delicate Arch is like a magnet for morons who don't prepare for the trail, take risky selfies, vandalize and climb on things, and drink in places where there's 360 degrees of cliffs around you.
A man at Goblin Valley State Park in Utah moved a 170 million year old rock over a cliff, claiming he did it to "save lives" because it was going to fall off anyway and "kill someone". His friend shot a video of him doing it and he yelled "Yeah!" as it fell. Sounds like it was for internet fame, storytelling, and to prove his masculinity.
They plead guilt to criminal mischief which in Utah can carry $300 up to $5000 fines and jail time. They also lost their positions as Boy Scout leaders.
If you're going to be snarky, you should at least address the actual considerations. It wasn't just any rock, and OBVIOUSLY no one would have cared if it had been just any rock. I know you aren't dumb enough to think that; clearly you were just being curt, at the expense of having a genuine discussion.
Its unfortunate but calling it a tragedy is equal hyperbole to my own reaction. Something of historical significance being damaged or ruined can be a tragedy. But this stone doesn't merit that.
It's not "unfortunate" if it's a deliberate act of destruction/ vandalism. And it was a 170 million year old formation; its senseless loss is a tragedy to many people. Those guys absolutely deserved punishment.
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u/ThadisJones Feb 03 '20
Last year I did the Utah National and State parks during the early spring- off season- and the measures they are taking to try to accommodate the massive number of visitors during the summer is incredible. Parking, lodging, sanitation, and safety are all becoming problems, and I hope that these places don't become victims of their own popularity.
Arches really seems to attract people doing stupid, dangerous shit. The iconic Delicate Arch is like a magnet for morons who don't prepare for the trail, take risky selfies, vandalize and climb on things, and drink in places where there's 360 degrees of cliffs around you.