Inconsiderate tourists have been criticised for leaving used toilet paper strewn along a walking trail in Yosemite National Park.
Photos of about a dozen discarded sheets of toilet paper next to a nearly full roll were posted on the park’s official Instagram page.
The disgusting trash was dumped in front of Rancheria Falls and, according to park rangers, this is not the first time this has happened.
“Unfortunately, this is a sight that has become all too familiar in Yosemite, even in wilderness areas,” the park wrote in The chargewhich has more than 12,000 likes.
One commenter on the post summed up the general frustration by writing: “I hate humans.”
National Park Service rangers found about a dozen discarded sheets of toilet paper and later posted the photos on Instagram.
Another made a supportive reference to Thanos in their response, a character from Marvel’s Avengers films who snaps his fingers and wipes out half the universe’s population.
“I don’t mind saying it, but Thanos was right. We have too many people,” they wrote, criticizing those who were throwing toilet paper.
Park officials did not disparage those responsible, but did offer suggestions on how they should behave on their next visit.
‘If you’re carrying toilet paper on your travels, take it with you too. You can bring a small zip-top plastic bag to store it in, and even cover the bag with tape so you don’t have to look at it.
“No one wants to find a surprise package left behind by an anonymous outdoor enthusiast,” the park wrote.
Some even said that dog poop bags would be preferable to what these people were doing.
The park also revealed that there are environmental concerns when hikers bury toilet paper.
The park revealed that toilet paper does not decompose for 1 to 3 years, which represents an environmental concern.
“It is easily exposed to weather and erosion, and animals can dig it up and disperse it long before it decomposes (which can take 1-3 years, depending on conditions),” the park wrote.
Some animals may end up using toilet paper as nesting material, the park also warned.
‘Let’s keep things clean and classy out there by packing out everything we bring inside,’ the park’s post concluded.
The toilet paper in the photos did not appear to be marked, leading many to speculate that a group of women who needed to urinate were behind it.
One woman made this particularly clear in her comment.
“Ladies (yes, you too!) you don’t need to leave your toilet paper behind to take a pee. Put it in your pockets and keep going. Oh my god, you won’t die before you find a trash can,” she wrote.
“Interestingly, I see women doing this a lot more than men (they can’t help themselves),” another person wrote.
Two women pose for a photo in Rancheria Falls, where the toilet paper was found.
Yosemite National Park covers a 747,956-acre section of east-central California and is home to hundreds of species of wildlife and more than a thousand species of plants.
In June 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill protecting the lands of Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove.
Congress officially designated it as a national park on October 1, 1890, making it the third national park after Yellowstone and Sequoia.
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