It used to be, that there was a wider recognition of the value of discovering something for yourself. It was fun chasing rumours of hidden caves or cool scrambles and climbs.
Technology, social media especially, has done a lot to undermine some of this - and as a canyoneer, frequently visiting new places, I do actually understand the value of shared, easily accessible information.
However, the easier you make it for anybody to discover places, the faster they fall victim to abuse.
6 Peak Ridge on Gwanaksan is a special trail, by my reckoning. Fixed lines are cut, and steps are taken to preserve it in a state of original challenge.
The top has seen a new viewing deck installed in recent years, but the route itself is thankfully free of stairs and other unnecessary adornments.
It has seen extra traffic in the past two years, largely due to instagram, but there still remained a minor challenge of finding the trailhead.
It was never particularly hard, as the ridge is named on all maps, and there is no hard terrain to read - but still - there existed a modicum of effort and competency required to get there. Generally, you'd hope that effort and competency was born of a motivation that might be paired with a sense of respect for the environment and a wish to see it cared for.
But someone is now painting signs on rocks.
This is ugly as hell. The paint has dripped whilst it has dried too (not even a bad job done well)
Stop telling people who probably ought not be there how to get there
Can't things just be left alone?
Can't you let people find things for themselves?
And as I finished a tour in the area, with a group of kids, I found this:
There is a trend of posting Santa climbing pics on social media, here, so I'm tempted to believe these might have been dumped by 'climbers'.
This is so disappointing to see...
These are the reasons it is so damn hard to get access to Canyoning Venues.