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[sl8]

This message was self-deleted by its author (sl8) on Thu Nov 26, 2020, 02:27 PM. When the original post in a discussion thread is self-deleted, the entire discussion thread is automatically locked so new replies cannot be posted.

[2naSalit]

1. It's like this all over the state.

The Madison has been getting hammered every year for over a decade, this is the natural result. The same happened in YNP as well as Glacier and the Yellowstone has been packed since spring too. And the Yellowstone river has been the lowest flow I've ever seen in the two decades I've lived in the area.

This does not bode well for the rivers' health and ability to retain that which these humans flock to see at their leisure. And, it's almost T-day and there's still no snow on the ground until you get up around 9K ft or better.

[MontanaMama]

2. This is 100% true.

I don’t live in this part of Montana...I live in western MT and we have been inundated with folks from out of state over here...this region saw a jump in tourism like never before. Most locals found it disturbing, as did I. It continues because lots of them haven’t left. They’ve bought 2nd and 3rd homes so they have a place to ride out the pandemic. They brought Covid with them too. Our case numbers have risen steadily from the start of tourist season through today.

If it felt like state parks such as Milltown, Placid Lake and Frenchtown Pond were unusually crowded this summer, you weren't imagining things.

The 10 state parks in the Missoula-headquartered Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 2 saw a combined 421,000 visitors through September of this year, compared to 288,000 in the same time period last year. That's a 46.2% increase, the highest jump of any of the regions in the Montana State Parks system.

"Those are just insane numbers," explained Loren Flynn, the FWP regional park manager. "We've never seen anything like that. We have 10 parks in our region, and every park saw an increase. I was really proud of our staff that did their best to provide service given the crazy circumstances."

Nearly 66,000 people visited Milltown State Park this summer, a 105% increase over last year. And 20,000 of those visitors came in July alone.

https://missoulian.com/news/local/data-state-parks-in-montana-see-huge-increase-in-visitors/article_0b4619fa-9678-50f3-a315-8d00c0eb947b.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

[yonder]

3. We've been getting the same outdoor recreation pressures here in Idaho.

Over the years and especially this last, my personal little "hidey holes" have steadily been discovered - it's like the flood gates have opened and folks from all over have rushed in.

Most unfortunate is the lack of respect for public lands many of those littering masses exhibit.

[Chakaconcarne]

4. We can thank outdoor writers and bloggers for this...

It pisses me off because these McDonalds-like writers are giving cheap information to many people who really don't care or appreciate the outdoors.... These people show up for a couple hours, take their selfies, trash the place, disrespect the solitude and leave...

In my opinion, these hidden places should be discovered on one's own and not advertised through a blog or newspaper (to just any schmuck). If you are out and about and run across a sweet spot it's probably because you already have an appreciation for the outdoors.... Word of mouth is okay, but I'm starting to loath outdoor writers and where possible, I always remind them how they are contributing to this problem.

Global warming and wildfires are making things worse because it concentrates the best time of year to visit places...

Depressing....

[yonder]

5. +1. 10-4 on unwanted publicity.

I've taken to camouflaging unknown trailheads and/or discretely entering/exiting them for that very reason.