Earth.  The Third Rock From the Sun.  The Blue Marble.  Home.

As spring runs into full swing and begins its journey towards summer, Earth Day comes and goes without much ado, save for folks who truly love the outdoors and this planet.  The hikers, backpackers, nature photographers and tree huggers.  My kinds of people.  In an age where there is so much turmoil and dissent on politics, religion and the color of skin, often times, the place we all call "home" is left far behind in the nether reaches of conversation.  

Sure, there are those folks with access to the public dais that can make their voice heard or try and bring change, but how effective is it really?  I'd have to say that on the whole, we are failing and not being heard.  Coal plants continue to fire, raw sewage continues to pour into the veins and arteries of the planet (our rivers, lakes and streams), oil is pumped from the ground in the most unethical (fracking) and fragile (ANWAR) places and plastics are churned out of factories with no consciousness over how they will impact wildlife and its biomes.

Scientists are estimating that MILLIONS of species are on the brink of extinction in the next hundred years because of the impact man has made.  Something has to be done.

As the world watched the Cathedral of Notre Dame burn, and hundreds of millions of dollars (just shy of a BILLION dollars as of today) pour in for the reconstruction of a building made of stone and fallen trees, I wonder, "Why?"  Scenes of people hysterically crying over the loss of a building makes me shake my head in disbelief.  An 850 year old building constructed with over 13,000 trees.  Where were all these tears as rainforests were cut?  Where were these tears when the last Northern White Rhino passed on into oblivion (due to the mass poaching of this magnificent animal)?  Where are the tears as whales wash up on beaches, starved to death, but with bellies full of plastic?

My heart aches for these things.  Each story I hear of another animal becoming part of the geological record or watching some ignorant motorist throw a cup from McDonalds out the window onto the shoulder of the road, my soul sighs and tears fall.  No time was this more evident than when our Government shut down and staffing at National Parks was halted.  Reading story after story of ignorant humans falling trees, discarding rubbish and defecating all over the land ire's my being.  

During my September 18, 2018 ascent of Mount Whitney, my partners and I witnessed such an act.  We were just below Trail Camp at roughly 11,500 feet in the shadow of Wotan's Throne, when two ignorant souls (these people weren't hikers.  They were fools.  They did not deserve the coveted summit permits they held.) began fighting on the trail about 200 yards below us.  Dressed in their leather jackets, Jordan sneakers and lugging plastic jugs of water in their hands, they argued over something trivial, which then spiraled into chest bumping and those water jugs being thrown at each other.  Water jugs that were eventually left on the side of the trail.  My heart was red with rage.  Each member of my crew was feeling that same emotion.  So careful are we to never "Leave a trace" when we climb, hike and adventure, and yet, these two imbeciles from Miami Beach, Florida, with their Gucci backpacks and designer pants, give not even a thought on the impact made at high elevation when plastic finds its way onto the ground.  I carefully noted the location of the bottle so I could grab it on the way down.

As my crew and I rested on the top of Trail Crest at 13,600 feet, the two hooligans reached the saddle as well.  "Kill nothing but time" is part of my mantra, but so much of me wanted to gently shove them off the sheer side into Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park.  They were talking to each other about the excitement to fly their drone over the summit (now only a mere 1.9 miles away) and take phones.  The only issue is that, flying drones over the summit is completely illegal.  Strike two.

Rested and refreshed, my crew continued to the summit where this pair of fools were indeed, flying their drone.  Polluting the air with noise and sullying the view for the rest of the true hikers.  As we carefully ate our lunch and enjoyed ice cold summit beers (taking the utmost care to not allow anything to reach the ground), we once again saw these fools drop wrappers onto the summit.  The trash was quickly collected by someone else before anyone of us could rise up and walk over.  A day filled with such wonder and good vibration was also filled with the dark side of humans who simply do not deserve to enjoy our ecosystem and natural wonders.

As earth day comes and goes, but pressure on our planet continues, I urge and implore all humans to carry a bag with you and collect trash as you see it.  To voice your objection at what is happening to our planet.  Not just because of the impact it has on our beloved trails, lakes and rivers, but because it is our home.  A home that is slowly dying.  A home that we will leave to future generations.  A home that will be fallow and polluted to the point where it becomes uninhabitable if change is not made.  A home no child is fit to live in.

As spring turns to summer and we spend more time outside, remember this.  Remember this as you contemplate the ride on a jet ski, take an ATV int the mountains or drop some trash onto the ground.  You are part of the problem.  Are YOU okay with this?  We all need to see the error in our impact on this planet.  Nothing is coming to save the Earth.  There is no ServPro for the Planet.  We must do the work ourselves.  It must begin soon.  

Enjoy this gorgeous ball of rock, water and soil while our feet trod it.  Make it better for all who are yet to come.  Love and light to everyone who reads this.  Happy Earth Day!

"Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures, kill nothing but time..."

Namaste, friends.